The Saddest Thing About Michael Scott That The Office Fans Ignore

In this episode, Jim Halpert coaches Michael Scott on how to get over his embarrassment from falling in the water feature while out on a sales pitch. The employees are having an absolute field day with Michael's misfortune as they throw fish pun after fish pun at him for their cruel enjoyment. Jim advises Michael to make fun of himself, which results in his co-workers taking it easy on him, and eventually even defending him.

Michael — as Michael is wont to do — takes the poking fun at himself too far and reveals a devastating story about a frozen lake.

"It's actually not the first time I've been embarrassed by a pond," he says to the group. "In high school, the girl's volleyball team always used to throw me in the frozen lake ... four years in a row. It was freezing." Oh, the trauma! For all four years of high school, Michael was ambushed by a pack of predatory teenage girls in incidents that could have resulted in his death each and every time. Falling through ice on a frozen lake is terrifying, dangerous, and definitely humiliating.

Michael had to endure this year after year as a young man, which very well could be one of the reasons he so desperately wants to be close to people. He craves attention, he craves family, he craves friendship, and this could be due in part to how he was treated during his high school years, and because of those mean ol' volleyball players.