It’s puppy love for Chesapeake Bay Retrievers!

An underdog is easy to cheer for in sports. But even easier to get behind when they’re actually dogs.

On Friday night, the UMBC Retrievers became a household name — we here in Maryland, where the Chesapeake Bay retriever is our official dog, have known about the Catonsville institution for sometime — with a historic 16-over-1 win in the NCAA basketball tournament.

Before the game even tipped off, the UMBC men’s team had basketball fans cheering for them, simply because they were the Retrievers.

There were plenty of folks online who were assuming that UMBC’s mascot was a golden retriever. They’re cute and all, too. But, have you seen Chesapeake Bay retriever puppies? They managed to find fans across breeds, though. UMBC’s Chesapeake Bay Retrievers: Just being good boys. Uniting a nation. Yes, there were references to one-hit wonders the Baja Men. But nobody was letting these dogs out just once. While new fans sprouted up over the weekend, it was clear the Retrievers have some long-standing support from the four-legged community. Nose boops all around. And even for the ones who destroyed things over the weekend. Bonus boops for destroying brackets. Underdog stories bring out plenty of opportunities for pop culture references.

And when those underdog stories include basketball, and dogs, then the output is clear.

Still not sure why everyone was calling it an upset, though. Who could be upset when it involves dogs?

If you’re feeling sad about UMBC’s loss to Kansas State on Sunday, don’t fret. There’s no better comfort than cuddling up with a good puppy. And judging by the replies to this tweet from UMBC Athletics, there are plenty of dogs willing to take up that task.