Midwesterners may not be too enthusiastic about this year’s Super Bowl showdown between the New York Giants and New England Patriots.

There’s a fix for that, and it includes adorable puppies of all breeds, pigs, a bird manned with a cellular phone and a hamster flying in a small blimp.

The Puppy Bowl is back for its 8^th consecutive year at the Animal Planet Stadium. This year’s lineup of puppies take to the gridiron at 4 p.m. central standard time on Sunday, Feb. 5, on the Animal Planet channel.

New this year, according to the Animal Planet website, is Meep the Bird who will tweet about all the action from inside the field.  A piggy pep squad will be hamming it up on the sidelines to cheer on the pups.

Of course, like most football games, there’ll be a tail-gating party and a blimp flying over the field, although this one’s manned with a hamster.

So, if you tire of the ‘main’ game on Sunday, grab the remote and channel surf over to where the real action is.