Last season, the Green Bay Packers missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years after Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone against the Minnesota Vikings.
We’re currently watching an underachieving Milwaukee Bucks team tread around the .500 mark while an off-season of uncertainty and unanswered questions loom.
It’s been a disappointing stretch for Wisconsin sports fans. But do you know what never disappoints? Dogs. More specifically, puppies. It’s scientifically impossible to be disappointed by a tiny version of man’s best friend, and since we are sick of being disappointed, instead of examining disappointing sports seasons, let’s examine the cuteness of some superstar puppies.
One week ago, Giannis Antetokounmpo sprained his ankle against the Los Angeles Clippers and the Bucks lost at home, which was upsetting. But he didn’t let that get in the way of gifting his girlfriend Mariah a puppy. One week later, and I’m finally done watching these adorable social media posts about the still-nameless pup and can finally try and process this.
It looks like Giannis gifted his girlfriend with a very good (wet?) dog after the game tonight!!!! 😍😍😍 pic.twitter.com/t0nd2LrncZ — Brew Hoop (@brewhoop) March 22, 2018
The newest furry addition to the Milwaukee Bucks family, understandably, got plenty of attention.
Someone just came into the Bucks locker room holding a puppy. John Henson cooed over it & followed it back to another area calling for Giannis. A few mins later Giannis appeared holding it and before anyone could react he walked briskly out of the locker room. Only a slight limp. — Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) March 22, 2018
The best look we have of the pup so far comes from Giannis’ Instagram story, which shows a 15-second clip of the little canine playing with her new family. (Warning: You will want one after watching.)
For those interested in more info about the dog in the Bucks locker room postgame, here’s @Giannis_An34’s Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/ET87goqYD5 — Matt Velazquez (@Matt_Velazquez) March 22, 2018
But the big question is, how does the cuteness of the Antetokounmpo puppy compare to a dog that Wisconsin sports fans may be a bit more familiar with?
Packer Nation was introduced to an adorable pup named Rigsbee when he starred alongside Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews in a 2017 state farm commercial called "Together."
The 30-second ad showed Rodgers reminiscing about all the fun times he and Rigsbee had in his Ford truck after Clay Matthews smashed a drone through the windshield. But that’s not important; the important part is Rigsbee.
Admittedly, we're not entirely certain he belongs to Rodgers, who lost dogs Frankie and Chance when he and Olivia Munn broke up, but they look like they should be together:
Rigsbee likes camping on the beach, is quite the athlete, takes a mean selfie and loves a good adrenaline pump. He’s definitely the kind of dog who would jump in the car with you, go on a weekend road trip anywhere and have a blast the entire time. Those are bonus points in the cuteness category, though he’s still going up against a freaking puppy.
So, who takes home the title of cutest Wisconsin sports star dog? The young and fuzzy Antetokounmpo puppy, or the selfie-taking and thrill-seeking Rigsbee?
This is too hard.
What do you think? And while you’re at it, if you have any good names for Giannis’ new dog, leave those in the comments. I’m sure Giannis would appreciate it. (Jabari Barker would be a great one.)
