On Sunday night, millions of people turned on their television to watch one of the most anticipated sporting events each year, the Puppy Bowl.

Sadly, this was not the case. Instead, most people tuned into a game between humans playing with some oblong ball and an overproduced halftime show headlined by a 50-year-old plastic surgery commercial. What many Americans did not realize is that just a few clicks of the universal remote could have replaced those jersey clad, overpaid, hind leg walkers with a field full of our favorite four-legged furry friends.

This years Puppy Bowl, hosted by Animal Planet, featured two hours of puppy footage on a small, replica football field. The eighth annual event feature commentary and many other aspects that mirror it’s human counterpart.

There are endless reasons why your Sunday night should have favored tail wags over penalty flags but we will just throw you a bone with a few.

Let’s open with the main attraction, puppies. They are the pinnacle of evolution (or creative design). In no way can a human stand up to these compact canines. Rob Gronkowski would most likely punch you if you told him to “sit.” And if you accidentally stepped on Eli Manning, we doubt he would still lick your face. If you prefer sweaty homo sapiens, so be it. We will be with the puppies whose ball actually squeaks.

Should a human football player do something respectable, he may garnish a cheer from a group of females whose career consists of “rooting,” “pom-poms” and something called a “round off quadruple back handspring.” In what can only be considered a step up, a perfect puppy play is rewarded with an “oink” from this years newest edition, The Piggy Pep Squad. Dressed in miniature skirts (with a tail hole of course), we would prefer the pigs over a pyramid of people any day.

If you still aren’t convince, we suggest you look at what the two sporting events represent. While one is a multimillion dollar production that showcases our nations competitive nature, consumerism, violence and preference for 80’s pop stars. In comparison, the Puppy Bowl features puppies from shelters and promotes the adoption of rescued dogs.

It is also one of those things where “everyone wins,” including you.