25 of TV’s messiest meltdowns

Everybody Leaves Matt — Friday Night Lights

Matt Sarencen was one of those characters that you wanted to simultaneously hug and shake. As the impromptu QB1 (first string quarterback) he was thrust into being a leader, and never quite felt worthy of the position. Friday Night Lights was always careful to remind us that Matt was earnest and genuine, but that he could also be a bit of a whiny baby.

Not that he didn’t have a lot to whine about. With an absentee mother, a deployed father, and a senile grandmother, Matt had a lot on his plate. As a result, his coping skills could be a little shaky at times. His relationships with the coach’s daughter, Julie, went a long way to help give him the emotional support system he so needed. But when Julie left him, Matt fell apart.

Instead of just getting drunk on warm beer he stole from his friend’s dad, Matt heads to Coach’s house to yell and scream his own version of, “Woe is me.” He famously shouts at Coach Taylor, “Everybody leaves me,” to which Coach responds by throwing him in a cold shower.

He needed it, though. As much legitimate stuff Matt had to be sad and to mourn, Coach knew he could be snapped out of it by a little tough love. And he was right. Matt straightened up and went on to be a pretty successful and (mostly) emotional mature man.