Look: Nobody was expecting “Out of work, exceptionally bored sports commentators” to become the non-medical heroes of our current quarantine crisis. And yet here we are: Just a couple of weeks after rugby commentator Nick Heath delighted a planet with his quick-fire rundowns of everyday events, we now have Andrew Cotter—a very real, very professional BBC sports person—presenting the heart-racing drama of the Dog World Series. We’re not sure what the qualifications for the event were, but they must have been pretty grueling, given that they’ve produced two top-notch competitors: Cotter’s pups Olive and Mabel.
And really: If you’ve never heard a professional sports commentator narrate the nail-biting thrill ride of two dogs gently arguing over a rubber bone, we have to ask if you’ve even truly lived. It’s very good, even if we can’t help but worry that there were some sort of low-moral shenanigans that impacted the ultimate upset. (There’s also been a great deal of controversy over Cotter’s decision to label the losing canine a “bad dog,” although he’s since apologized.) Still, though, we can’t wait to see how this rousing competition continues. We’ve already had kibble races and the game of bones; can high-impact couch napping be far away?