Wednesday night pitted two American icons against each other on television: former President Bill Clinton speaking at the Democratic National Convention and the season opener of NFL football on NBC — and Clinton outdrew the NFL, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The result may come as a surprise to many observers, given that the NFL has been delivering ratings that consistently dwarf everything else on TV.

Wednesday night’s coverage of the convention drew 25.1 million viewers, while the NFL opener pulled in 23.9 million viewers, the story notes. The Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Giants in the kickoff game for the 2012 season.

Still, the second night of the convention marked a slight drop from the opening evening. On Tuesday night, which featured Michelle Obama, 26.2 million viewers tuned in.

The Democratic Convention has continued to draw more viewers than last week’s Republican National Convention, with the second night of that event delivering 21.9 million viewers. The RNC’s second night featured Paul Ryan, the Republican nominee for vice president.