Fox was wishing for a record audience. Wish in one hand and, well, you know the rest by now.

The final number for Super Bowl LVII landed at 113 million. That makes it the third most-watched TV show ever, and the most watched Super Bowl since Super Bowl LI in 2017.

The all-time record continues to be held by Super Bowl XLIX, which racked up 114.5 million average viewers on NBC in early 2015.

Fox had hoped a close game would push Chiefs-Eagles over the top. And it was indeed a compelling and competitive finish. A sluggish first half by the Chiefs may have caused some folks to disengage, until the Chiefs woke up after halftime.

Regardless, what was everyone else doing? The country has more than 330 million people in it. Seriously, what else would have been more interesting than the Super Bowl?