Was it the New Orleans Saints’ opportunity to revive a city that’s longing for some life? Or was it the league’s MVP trying to win his second Super Bowl ring? Or was it simply the fact that Americans love football? Whatever the reason may be, the Super Bowl had its best year ever, with approximately 106.5 million people tuning in from their homes.

To many this number is huge and shocking, but to those that follow the history of television, the number is epic. The season finale of M-A-S-H, airing in 1983, has held the record for largest television audience for 27 years. M-A-S-H, the beloved show about the comedic happenings in a military hospital based in Korea, was first released in 1972.

There are some suggesting that this record was “made to be broken,” given the astronomical increase in the amount of homes with television sets since 1983. However, Super Bowl fans argue that there was much less of a viewing option at that time. Regardless of circumstance, it is generally agreed that this new record is a great thing for both Super Bowl fans and the people of New Orleans.

Alan Alda (Hawkeye Pierce), the star of the now second-place television series M-A-S-H is not bitter about the defeat at all. In fact, while having your record broken may never be a happy occurrence, when it comes to how it was broken, he couldn’t be happier. “If the M-A-S-H audience was eclipsed, it was probably due in large part to the fact that the whole country is rooting for New Orleans to triumph in every way possible,” said Alda “I am too, and I couldn’t be happier for them. I love that city.”

Not everyone watched Super Bowl XLIV, but for the struggling city of New Orleans and their Saints, they probably didn’t mind the attention.