Running down the field, leaping over the other players, he pushes his way into the end zone for a touch down! Instead imagining sweaty football players, try to picture adorable, adoptable puppies and you’ve got Animal Planet’s annual Puppy Bowl, a fun game day alternative with a noble cause behind it.

The Puppy Bowl has been going on for 17 years. It streams every year, the same day as the Super Bowl. Its purpose is not to just bring joy, but to find adoptable puppies a “furever” home. They not only show what would typically be a “normal” puppy but those who also have disabilities. This year’s Puppy Bowl had multiple hearing and vision impaired puppies as well as puppies who have amputations and have to use wheels as legs to get around.

Adopting is better than buying from breeders or puppy mills. Adopting gives those animals who weren’t wanted or abused a second chance at life. Sadly most animals who are not adopted in a certain period of time are put down. Bringing light to animals in foster homes or shelters helps them get noticed more which means a high chance of finding their “furever” home.

Animals with disabilities like Jett, an adorable pup missing its front legs and featured during the Puppy Bowl, would typically be discarded or just left to die. Being on television especially, one that gets a lot of views can help people realize that animals with disabilities aren’t something to give up on. Those animals deserve life too and just because they need more attention than a “normal” animal does not mean they can just be disposed of like garbage. They are still a living thing and deserve all the chances they can get which is why it is very important that the Puppy Bowl shows these animals.

The Puppy Bowl over all is just an adorable thing to watch especially if you’re not a huge fan of football. It brings a smile to people’s face to just see these adorable puppies run around and play with toys for a good two hours. It can change someone’s whole mood by just being able to view puppies play with toys and each other.

Some say that the Puppy Bowl takes away from the excitement and intensity of Super Bowl Sunday Many those who enjoy football really only care to watch the Super Bowl and might find the Puppy Bowl to be nothing more than a distraction. None of that takes away from the important cause that Animal Planet is championing by airing the Puppy Bowl and trying to find homes for pets in need.

Needless to say, the puppies are very cute no matter whether you enjoy the Puppy Bowl or not. If you just need a mood booster, watch the Puppy Bowl. The worst thing that could happen is your mom doesn’t let you adopt an adorable puppy like Jett—but, hey, maybe she will.