Meet the 2017 Puppy Bowl Players: Photos, Starting Lineups

RX_1701_Sports Illustrated_Puppy Bowl_Parfait

This year's main event features 78 puppies from 34 rescues from all around the United States and will be separated into “Team Ruff” and “Team Fluff.”

If that many puppies is not enough to warm your heart, then the amount of coverage will have no problem in doing so. Puppy Bowl XIII festivities begin with a "Tail"gate pregame show at 2 p.m. ET before the main event kicks off at 3 p.m. ET.

(For those cat people out there, the halftime show will be performed by the Chicago Rock Cats and Kitty Gaga.)

As for the game itself, spectators as well as history should have their eyes on Alexander Hamilpup on Team Fluff, who is just 19 weeks old but proved to be young, scrappy and hungry all throughout the season. His teammate Legs will surely be one of the most inspiring storylines to follow as he has just three legs due to a crate accident yet still flashes great speed.

Team Ruff is headed by the rather wrinkly but still adorable Smooshie. The team's feel-good storyline comes from Doobert who is totally deaf but is actually in the process of learning hand signals from his owners. That's right...signal calling is coming to the Puppy Bowl.

Check out some of the dogs in the game. The Puppy Bowl can be watched on Animal Planet.

Start Slideshow

1 of 16

Alexander Hamilpup

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Pomsky — Age: 19 weeks — Shelter: Florida Little Dog Rescue in Florida

2 of 16

Beebop

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Ruff — Breed: Terrier Mix — Age: 16 weeks — Shelter: Stray Rescue in Missouri

3 of 16

Blitz

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Golden Retriever — Age: 15 weeks — Shelter: Miami-Dade County Animal Services in Florida

4 of 16

Bo

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Ruff — Breed: Parson Russell Terrier Mix — Age: 15 weeks — Shelter: SPCA LA in California

5 of 16

Daisy

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Ruff — Breed: Chihuahua Mix — Age: 13 weeks — Shelter: Last Hope K9 in Massachusetts

6 of 16

Daphne

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Ruff — Breed: Pit Bull — Age: 19 weeks — Shelter: Operation Education Animal Rescue

7 of 16

Dawson

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Jack Russell/Terrier Mix — Age: 14 weeks — Shelter: Paw Works in California

8 of 16

Hope

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Labrador/Hound Mix — Age: 19 weeks — Shelter: Unleashed in New York

9 of 16

Lucky

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Terrier Mix — Age: 16 weeks — Shelter: Operation Education Animal Rescue in Tennessee

10 of 16

Max

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Pit Bull Mix — Age: 13 weeks — Shelter: Morris Animal Refuge in Pennsylvania

11 of 16

Nikita

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Cocker Spaniel/Bichon Friese Mix — Age: 18 weeks — Shelter: Florida Little Dog Rescue in Florida

12 of 16

Nyquist

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Husky/Shepherd Mix — Age: 15 weeks — Shelter: Bonnie's Animal Rescue Kingdom in New Jersey

13 of 16

Oliver the Puppy

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Standard Poodle — Age: 12 weeks — Shelter: Florida Little Dog Rescue in Florida

14 of 16

Panda

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Sato (Puerto Rican Terrier) — Age: 18 weeks — Shelter: The Sato Project in Puerto Rico

15 of 16

Parfait

Courtesy of Animal Planet

Team: Fluff — Breed: Yorkie/Poodle Mix — Age: 17 weeks — Shelter: Florida Little Dog Rescue in Florida

Replay gallery

Meet the 2017 Puppy Bowl Players: Photos, Starting Lineups