Puppy Bowl 2013 and the Kitten Halftime Show wowed audiences across America Sunday. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the event is an annual two-hour TV special that recreates the Super Bowl with dogs instead of humans. The show first appeared on The Animal Planet in 2005. Puppies can score touchdowns on the 10-by-19-foot playing surface when they run across the goal line with one of the many toys littering the field.

The main event, which started at 3 p.m. ET, also features hedgehog cheerleaders.

To find out more about the Puppy Bowl 2013, Entertainment Weekly sat down with actor and voice-over artist Dan Schachner who suited up as the referee for this year’s big event.

“It’s a two-day process,” Schachner told EW when asked how he prepares for the big day. “We shot it back in November. One day is devoted to the kitten halftime show and the promos and opens and closes that we do, but the other full day is devoted to the Puppy Bowl itself. That’s a full-day of shooting, 10 or 12 hours, to create a two-hour show.”

During the game, the ref will even throw a flag for excessive cuteness.

“The way I look at it, it’s always got to be a multiple situation — it’s never one dog that can get penalized for being excessively cute,” Schachner added. “That would just blow up his ego way too big. It’s got to be several dogs, usually three or more, doing something unbelievably cute, which I define as cuddling or doing that thing where dogs rub their noses together.”

According to Meep the Bird, who was live-tweeting the game, “All #PuppyBowl puppies tested NEGATIVE for cuteness enhancing substances.”

Did you and your family watch this year’s Puppy Bowl? Share your thoughts about which dog deserved this year’s MVP in the comments section.