Puppy Bowl 2012 Lineup Set [VIDEO/LINK]

There are two celebrated battles of the gridiron next weekend. One is considered a de facto American national holiday and will determine the champion of the National Football League, the other is not as big or important -- but it's certainly the more adorable of the two.

Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl returns next weekend, and while it doesn't feature any of America's premiere quarterbacks, you CAN count on fan favorites the water bowl cam and the kitty halftime show, which will no doubt be ten times cuter than Madonna could ever hope to be. New this year: Meep the Bird who will tweet all the action from inside the stadium, and a piggy pep squad that Animal Planet promises will "ham it up on the sidelines."

Prepare yourself for hours of unnecessar­y ruff ruff roughness by checking out this year's starting lineup , and watch some Hall of Fame moments from past Puppy Bowl's below ...