At the outset of Friday Night Lights, Tim Riggins was the baddest of bad boys. He drank too much, he had the rally girls do his homework, and he slept with his paralyzed best friend's girlfriend. Somewhere along the way, though, Riggins came to embody the heart and soul of not just FNL but of the town of Dillon, and although he quickly bailed on a college scholarship and chose to return home, he'll always be our favorite fullback. Texas forever.

"You may never know how proud I am of you." It was Coach Taylor (Kyle Chandler) who spoke those words, but it may as well have been us. Vince Howard was a kid from the wrong side of town and whose life would have been much different if it weren't for the East Dillon Lions. Coach gave him a home and a purpose, and the result was a young man with a bright future and one of the best stories to come out of the final two seasons of Friday Night Lights.

Jimmy Brooks was a popular basketball star at Degrassi until he was shot in the back by fellow classmate Rick in Season 4 (of course Degrassi went there). Jimmy was paralyzed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair following the shooting, but eventually took to coaching younger kids in the sport... Before discovering there was more to life than just basketball.

Jay Kulina is a fierce competitor inside the MMA cage and a wild but loyal son and brother outside of it. Through Jay (and the rest of Kingdom's excellent cast), the series shines a light on mixed martial arts, a sport that's rarely covered on TV.

A basketball star who loves to sing?! That's just crazy! By the rules of high school, set down in some year a long time ago, the theater nerds and the jocks can't be friends, let alone exist within the same human body. But Troy Bolton changed that when he broke free, bopped to the top and proved that we're all in this together.

Prior to being bitten and turned into a werewolf, Teen Wolf's Scott McCall spent a lot of time on the bench during Beacon Hills' lacrosse games. However, once he started figuratively howling at the moon, he turned into a star player, much to the confusion of his team mates. Too bad Scott couldn't share some of his athletic prowess with best friend and partner in crime, Stiles Stilinski.

It's not easy living in a town where a crazy person with a grudge wants to torment you and your best friends, but Emily didn't let the threat of danger stop her from becoming the star of Rosewood High's swim team. Sure, her career in the pool had its ups and downs, and someone maybe once tried to drown her, but as the Spice Girls taught us, every group of girlfriends needs a sporty member.

In Tree Hill, basketball skills run in the Scott family, as Nathan and his half-brother Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) both excelled at the sport... Just like their father, the human garbage fire known as Dan Scott. Nathan was a natural talent and following high school, where he was a star player, he went on to play for the University of Maryland. He was set to be drafted by the NBA when a serious injury left him paralyzed. Eventually, Nathan learned to walk again and went on to play professionally in the NBA before becoming an agent.

When he wasn't busy helping best friend and teen detective Veronica Mars solve cases, Wallace was on the basketball court, first at Neptune High and then in university at Hearst College. When he struggled to excel at both his studies and perform on the basketball team, he gave up his starting position on the basketball team, only to earn it back the next semester.

Before he was Sam Anders, cylon and member of the Final Five, he was Samuel T. Anders, professional pyramid player. Sure, pyramid isn't a real sport in our universe, and Anders became a viper pilot after the destruction of the Twelve Colonies on Battlestar Galactica, but he's still one of our favorite TV athletes for the way he kicked ass and (sort of) captured Kara's heart.

There were a lot of great athletes to choose from on this show about elite gymnastics, but Payson Keeler took dedication to the sport to a whole new level. In the show's final season, Payson not only recovered from a major back injury, but she got her butt back in the gym and trained her way onto an Olympic team. She stuck it to all of her haters (and the Olympic committee judges) with a jaw-dropping floor routine that proved she was still the best gymnast at the Rock.

The overly enthusiastic Spartan Cheerleaders didn't care what the sport was, they had the spirit and were always prepared to cheer the team on. Heck, they even cheered on a chess tournament once, and everyone knows chess isn't a sport.

Kim Possible was a busy girl and sometimes you had to call her and beep her if you wanted to reach her. Despite being a super spy that saved the world every night, Kim still managed to squeeze cheerleading into her very busy schedule. That's what we call an all-around great athlete.

On the animated series Daria, Kevin filled the role of the stereotypical jock. He was pressured by his father to be a great football player, and he was -- Kevin was quarterback of the school's football team! -- but he struggled in school. He was portrayed as very dim-witted and even failed to graduate on account of his low grades. However, unlike most jocks in popular culture, Kevin was never a bully, and for that he stands out.

When you think of Jack McPhee you might think of his excellent sweater collection or even nude paintings, but he was also the most athletic person on one of the most influential teen dramas of all time. Season 3 of Dawson's Creek saw Jack prove he was more than Jen's true soulmate; he was a really great football player. He was so good even Dawson's ill-conceived documentary about Jack being a gay quarterback didn't stop him from pulling out a win for Capeside High. And yeah, he still looked as good in a jersey as he did in those sweaters.

Although Troy Barnes was a talented high school athlete and had caught the attention of several university football programs, he was unprepared for the challenge, which is why he faked an injury and ended up at Greendale Community College with the rest of TV's greatest band of merry misfits.

Ah, Finn Hudson: the jock with a heart of gold and a fondness for song. For as long as teen movies and shows have existed, there's been a divide between the two, as if one cannot exist while the other lives. But like Troy Bolton before him, two became one when Finn, who played football and basketball, also fell hard for Glee club.

LeBron James was just a kid from Akron and Cam Calloway was just a dude from the projects. Although we never actually see Cam's life on the court on Survivor's Remorse (a show that is produced by James), the way his life, and the lives of his family and friends changed after his success, makes him one of our favorite TV athletes.

Slater was the token athlete of Saved by the Bell and played multiple sports at Bayside High, from football to wrestling and maybe even basketball. He was good enough to earn a wrestling scholarship but eventually chose to go to college with his buds.

Like Slater, Kelly was a bit of an overachiever when it came to sports. The most popular girl at Bayside High and the object of Zack Morris' desire, Kelly was also a cheerleader and a member of the school's volleyball team. She may or may not have also been a member of other teams, which makes you wonder if this girl ever got tired.

Kenny Powers was once a big dang deal in the world of professional baseball. That was, of course, before his abrasive ego and short temper ruined his pitching career in the majors and he ended up as a substitute physical education teacher in his hometown. Although Kenny eventually found success in the sport following a strong comeback, he later threw it away and faked his own death to be with his family. He was still a jerk though.

Van wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was the person most likely to make you laugh. A football star who impregnated and then married his high school girlfriend, Van was kind and warm hearted, and when his dream of playing professional sports was dashed, he could still be counted on for that.

7th Heaven will be remembered for many things, and one of those things may or may not be Mary Camden's history as a basketball star. As a teen, Mary had a dream of going pro, and over the course of the show she saw success, and even overcame injuries... But ultimately a few bad decisions resulted in the loss of her college scholarship.

Oh look, baby Chris Pratt! Before he was battling it out at the movies for the title of your favorite Chris, he was just Everwood's Bright Abbott. Initially Bright was your stereotypical popular athlete, but as time went on, secrets were revealed and relationships changed, and Bright turned into a really great -- if goofy -- guy.

Bluebell mayor Lavon Hayes' football-playing days were behind him by the start of Hart of Dixie, but his past -- at the University of Alabama and as an NFL star -- were a major part of who he was, and we're bummed we never got to see him play. Well, that and we felt like we couldn't really include Don Todd in this list even though Don Todd's Monster Golf Safari is world-class entertainment.