Super Bowl alternatives: Eight things to watch other than the big game

Not a football fan? Loathe the Seahawks? Still mad at Tom Brady over “Deflategate”?

Whatever your reason for not tuning in to the Super Bowl on Sunday, there are plenty of counterprogramming options available to ensure that you won’t miss out on our nation’s annual ritual of sloth, gluttony and television.

Here are eight options for keeping entertained while everyone else is glued to the gridiron.

By now the Puppy Bowl has become an insitution of its own; think of it as the Super Bowl of Super Bowl alternatives. “Puppy Bowl XI” airs on Animal Planet from noon Pacific time til 2 a.m. Monday.

The Puppy Bowl’s success has inspired, ahem, copycats, including “Kitten Bowl II” on Hallmark from noon to 9 p.m., and “Fish Bowl II “ from 3 to 7 p.m. on NatGeo Wild.

If you prefer undead creatures, AMC has a marathon of “The Walking Dead” (which just so happens to be returning with new episodes next Sunday) from 10 a.m. til 6 a.m. Monday.

For fans of procedurals and/or Mariska Hargitay, there’s a “Law & Order: SVU” marathon (a.k.a. the Benson Bowl) on USA , 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Prefer sports documentaries to actual sports? Then tune in to the “30 for 30” marathon on ESPN from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. If that’s not enough, ESPN Classic will be playing the docs all day long.

Want to watch grown women throwing their drinks at each other? Then Bravo’s got 10 straight hours of “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” to keep you happy from noon to 10 p.m.

And for sci-fi nerds, there’s a marathon of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” on BBC America from 9 a.m. Sunday to 3 a.m. Monday.

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