FARMINGTON – Two natives of Colorado and New Mexico will be competing in their biggest sporting event this weekend.

No, not Super Bowl LIV, but the other prominent event on Sunday. Some might argue it is the most entertaining, or at least the most adorable of the two events.

Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XVI will feature two puppies – one from Colorado and one from New Mexico – in the fun, fur-filled event airing at 1 p.m. before the Super Bowl. While football fans will watch the San Francisco 49ers square off against the Kansas City Chiefs, fans of cute chaos can watch Team Ruff and Team Fluff battle it out.

Representing Colorado is Aspen, an Australian cattle dog and cocker spaniel mix. At 22 months old, Aspen calls Rocky Mountain Puppy Rescue home. A description of the pup says Aspen “turns into a slush puppy every winter.”

For New Mexico, Dracula will be filling a slot on Team Ruff’s bench. Dracula was originally fostered as a puppy at Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley in Las Cruces before finding her way to One Tail at a Time PDX in Oregon, according to the Las Cruces Sun News.

Dracula’s mother was originally brought into the shelter with six puppies but only two survived. At 14 weeks old, Dracula has quite the puppy background: American bulldog, standard bull terrier, American Staffordshire, boxer, Lab, Shar-Pei and Australian shepherd.

Sunday’s cuddliest competition will have more than 100 puppies included on the starting lineups and backup teams, and most of the animals are currently up for adoption, according to Animal Planet. This is the 16th year for the event, and 100% of the puppies and kittens that have participated in past events have been adopted, according to the network.

lweber@durangoherald.com