Matthew McConaughey Goes Viral at Texas Football Game

Footage of Matthew McConaughey cheering on his beloved Texas Longhorns on the sidelines during their New Year's Day football game has gone viral online.

The Oscar-winning actor was on hand as his alma mater's Longhorns faced the Washington Huskies for the College Football Playoff Semifinal Allstate Sugar Bowl, which took place at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

A native of Longview, Texas, and notable alumnus of the University of Texas, McConaughey has often been seen on the sidelines of Texas Longhorn games sporting the burnt orange and throwing the "hook 'em" sign.

Such was the screen star's enthusiasm during Monday's game he ended up being placed on a triple screen during ESPN2's broadcast and looked more like the team coach than a fan after making an impromptu dash for the sidelines.

Initially, the Texan was seen standing with the field pass crew during the game, before making a swift departure to get a more close-up view from the sideline. "I can't keep looking at that damn screen," he declared before making his move.

The broadcasters then added a box to show McConaughey as he cheered on his team, gave the players pep talks, and paced the sidelines like a coach.

Footage of the moment has since gone viral on X, formerly Twitter, clocking up more than 190,000 views in the hours since it was uploaded on the platform.

McConaughey's presence and unofficial involvement sparked a wave of comments from football fans, who noted the unprecedented nature of the star's actions.

"WILD... Actor Matthew McConaughey was on the sideline during the game trying to hype up Texas player giving them advice," read a post from @_MLFootball. "Never seen this before."

One football fan wrote that "2024 just started with Matthew McConaughey walking around sidelines at a Texas Longhorns game unauthorized. It's clearly about to be a wild ride friends, but happy new year."

Ari Wasserman, national college football reporter at The Athletic, stated: "It's never not shocking watching Matthew McConaughey dressed up like he's on the set of Yellowstone just show up on the Texas sideline and pat shoulder pads like he's an offensive analyst."

"I feel like Matthew McConaughey became a celeb just so he could get a VIP, sideline view of his sports teams," quipped another.

"Matthew McConaughey is a true fan," another viewer noted of the star, who serves as minister of culture at the University of Texas.

"We now see Coach Matthew McConaughey pacing the sidelines," said another, as they shared video footage of the actor doing just that.

While McConaughey's presence sparked a wave of positive comments, some viewers voiced their disapproval on the social media platform.

"I really like Matthew McConaughey but c'mon man, get behind the damn bench while the game is being played," wrote one.

Despite all of McConaughey's efforts, the Longhorns saw a narrow 31-37 loss at the game. However, the actor was still full of pride as he took to his own X account.

"What a journey this season," he said. "Didn't end how we wanted, proud of this @texasfootball team — hats off to the huskies."

One day ahead of the game, McConaughey shared a passionate speech on social media ahead of the anticipated matchup.

"What do we gotta do?" McConaughey said in the clip. "Hey, Longhorns, we play in big games well. Good. We better."

After sending a message to each unit of the Longhorns on both sides of the ball, he continued: "You know how good we are, Longhorns, when you receivers, when you block downfield?

"You know how good we are when the play's over and a running back is 30 yards down the field, but I see three offensive lineman still blocking down there? Take that mentality to that game. Run them out of New Orleans. Move on to the next one. Hook 'em.'"

McConaughey was a film student at the University of Texas when he auditioned for a movie getting filmed in Austin. He wound up landing the role of David Wooderson in Dazed and Confused, a movie set in Austin as the summer begins in 1976.

Wooderson is an older graduate who hangs around and parties with the high school crowd, and in the end, they reminisce about their football days on the 50-yard line of the high school stadium.

McConaughey also played the role of coach Jack Lengyel in We Are Marshall, a portrayal of the Marshall University football team's reviving the program after a plane crash killed most of the football team and coaches.