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Andrew Luck Retirement Post-Mortums. (Long)


NewColtsFan

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Very well articulated @NewColtsFan and I understand your frustration and desire for answers.

 

I do wonder if we will ever get 100% of the truth as Luck is such an incredibly private person, maybe more so than any other modern day athlete.  We have seen him bristle at questions about injuries etc before and you can see he hates being vulnerable in front of others.

 

I also understand the "why didn't he take a sabbatical" queries based on this injury being minor compared to the labrum.  However I always think back to Irsay's "between the ears" comment a year or so ago that so many thought was outrageous.  I also think the team would be worse off if Andrew just took a sabbatical as we now know we all have to get fully behind Jacoby and not just think "ah well, at least Andrew is back soon" like a cloud over Brissett all year.

 

I wonder if the press conference that had been arranged for the Sunday would have provided more answers than the hastily arranged one after the pre season game if Luck had been able to read a prepared statement or been given more time to think about what he really wanted to say, but I guess we will never know on that front.

 

Oh to have 15 minutes with Andrew and get some real answers....

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WELL written NCF. I’ve thought a lot about this. My impression of Luck had always been the ultimate teammate and warrior. As well as a rare intellectual in the world of the NFL. All of which may have led to his retirement. The warrior who was constantly injured and unable to play at the top of his game.  The intellectual who had other interests and a new life with wife and expecting child. 

I think it all boils down to his mental state. He talked about very dark days in the past. I suspect the mental issues are a big part of this. And explains why he doesn’t want to talk about it.  He wants to move on. And doesn’t want to discuss his private life. Awkward? Very. Understandable?Yes, if you buy into the mental struggles he may have been experiencing. Will we ever know for certain? Is suspect it will leak out eventually. But for now, we’ll all be left wondering. JMO. 

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Don’t take this the wrong way but didn’t you just post to 1959coltsfan that he’s been crying about it for over a week before posting this?   Maybe an apology is appropriate?  I hate the adage hurt people hurt people but maybe that applies.  Hahaha.  

 

As to the above, I appreciate your points and agree to most.  I’m over it and it is time to move on.  Still it is hard to shake AL doing that sidestepping drill while laughing.   

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1 hour ago, w87r said:

Coping mechanism.

Thank You for saying that. In the  Press Conference after the game, Luck appeared very depressed, to me. Not just “sad, I’m retiring “ depressed, but actually Mentally Upset. Like, “I need a Doctor” depressed.  Like, Pre-suicidal? He needs a change of course/career.... He wouldn’t have been capable of playing in that condition, IMO.

 

i also blame, at least, in part, the Colts Front Office. I see a pattern: Marvin’s injury covered up, fans led on. Peyton’s injury covered up, fans led on. Luck’s injuries covered up, fans led on.  We’ll truly never know how long he was injured, how many games he actually played that maybe he shouldn’t have, and how long ago he truly started thinking/telling  of retirement.

 

in the end, Ballard did the Right Thing. He extended Jacoby. That puts Luck in the rear view mirror, and sets a forward-looking course. It would be difficult for Luck to try to come back now....

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17 minutes ago, ojsglove said:

If my wife made me give up a career in the NFL, I wouldn’t want it known either.

I don't know about that.

At some point mental, physical health and family come before anything else.

It sucks, but sometimes it's just time to move on.

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5 hours ago, lollygagger8 said:

To me, he didn't retire. He quit. 

 

 

Yes he quit plain and simple from all accounts he’s not a materialistic person. So he has all the money he could ever want.  He has  a new wife and a baby on the way. He just he didn’t want to do the work anymore. 

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11 hours ago, Fluke_33 said:

Don’t take this the wrong way but didn’t you just post to 1959coltsfan that he’s been crying about it for over a week before posting this?   Maybe an apology is appropriate?  I hate the adage hurt people hurt people but maybe that applies.  Hahaha.  

 

As to the above, I appreciate your points and agree to most.  I’m over it and it is time to move on.  Still it is hard to shake AL doing that sidestepping drill while laughing.   

 

I think what I wrote is far different than what I wrote.    I didn't hurl insults at Luck.   I didn't call him a quitter.    I didn't demand that he return any money.    I didn't say he shouldn't have retired.       My post is entirely different.

 

All I've said in a critical nature, is that he owed Colts Nation,  every fan,  an explanation that makes sense.    We should know what happened.     I think the fans were owed that.

 

So, I think my comments are far different than what the vast majority of critical remarks have been like.....

 

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I think I have come to terms with him being retired, but then again, I had his hard count cadences stuck in my head this morning for whatever reason so maybe I am not over it fully yet.   

 

I think Andrew really wanted to play this year, but I think his mental state got the better of him as the season got closer and wanted to get out before he thought it might have been too late.  I just think he didn't feel comfortable talking about his mental health with the game and with his press conference being rushed he didn't feel comfortable giving us all of the reasons why he left.  

 

As a fan, it's frustrating to see a young star leave when the team is finally ran well from an organizational level and with an abundance of young talent.  But if it is truly his mental health, I am glad he is stepping away so he can re-gain a grip on that.  Part of me thinks as well that he might have feared having worse injuries down the road.  I always hope a player can walk away while they still can, rather than being carried away like players such as Favre and Theismann (I know Favre was up in age, but getting knocked out on your final snap is not the way to go out).  

 

Maybe someday Luck will come forward and tell us.  But until then, I wish him the best in the next chapter of his life.  

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Chris Wessling of NFL network has some pretty powerful insight as to the reasons why luck chose to hang it up.  Citing his own cancer battle as a basis for his speculation.  Basically dissecting lucks statements from interviews given after the injuries started piling up.  It's an interesting take, and one I believe in.  As someone currently fighting cancer,  it moved me greatly to hear the words Luck was using to describe his sense of self during his neverending cycle of pain and treatment.  They're words I use all the time. It consumes your entire being until you dont even know who you are, with it or without it.  It's a mental health issue and one I know all to well.  I dont blame him at all for retiring from the thing kicking the s#*+ out of him daily.  Not a day goes by that I dont wish I could do the same. Beyond my own disappointment about this season and my admitted momentary lapses in perspective I wish him the best.  What hes going through eclipses contracts, money, fame and fans.......put simply, its just bigger. I just hope he heals, in every sense of the word. 

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4 hours ago, Sumo63 said:

Chris Wessling of NFL network has some pretty powerful insight as to the reasons why luck chose to hang it up.  Citing his own cancer battle as a basis for his speculation.  Basically dissecting lucks statements from interviews given after the injuries started piling up.  It's an interesting take, and one I believe in.  As someone currently fighting cancer,  it moved me greatly to hear the words Luck was using to describe his sense of self during his neverending cycle of pain and treatment.  They're words I use all the time. It consumes your entire being until you dont even know who you are, with it or without it.  It's a mental health issue and one I know all to well.  I dont blame him at all for retiring from the thing kicking the s#*+ out of him daily.  Not a day goes by that I dont wish I could do the same. Beyond my own disappointment about this season and my admitted momentary lapses in perspective I wish him the best.  What hes going through eclipses contracts, money, fame and fans.......put simply, its just bigger. I just hope he heals, in every sense of the word. 

 

My very best wishes to you, Sumo.    I feel your pain.   I have a family member dealing with cancer and the after effects.

 

My sister beat Leukemia,  only to come down with a bizarre disease that afflicts about 20 percent of people who get Leukemia.    And that disease is currently winning.    It's a hellacious battle.

 

Will think good for thoughts for you and yours.    I'm sure many others here will too.  

 

 

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5 hours ago, Sumo63 said:

Chris Wessling of NFL network has some pretty powerful insight as to the reasons why luck chose to hang it up.  Citing his own cancer battle as a basis for his speculation.  Basically dissecting lucks statements from interviews given after the injuries started piling up.  It's an interesting take, and one I believe in.  As someone currently fighting cancer,  it moved me greatly to hear the words Luck was using to describe his sense of self during his neverending cycle of pain and treatment.  They're words I use all the time. It consumes your entire being until you dont even know who you are, with it or without it.  It's a mental health issue and one I know all to well.  I dont blame him at all for retiring from the thing kicking the s#*+ out of him daily.  Not a day goes by that I dont wish I could do the same. Beyond my own disappointment about this season and my admitted momentary lapses in perspective I wish him the best.  What hes going through eclipses contracts, money, fame and fans.......put simply, its just bigger. I just hope he heals, in every sense of the word. 

 

Without wishing to go completely off topic...

 

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear of your illness and I hope you win the fight. I currently work within cancer for the health service here in the UK and even now there's a huge amount of work to be done in learning how to treat people rather than treat a disease. To that end I think Wessling, who I have a lot of time for, isn't too far wrong in his analogy. Any form of chronic condition/disease can take a huge toll mentally. I think we're seeing a shift in the NFL of players being more open about what they put their bodies through to get onto the field each Sunday, and more taking the money after their 2nd contract and walking away in their late 20s. 

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7 hours ago, Sumo63 said:

Chris Wessling of NFL network has some pretty powerful insight as to the reasons why luck chose to hang it up.  Citing his own cancer battle as a basis for his speculation.  Basically dissecting lucks statements from interviews given after the injuries started piling up.  It's an interesting take, and one I believe in.  As someone currently fighting cancer,  it moved me greatly to hear the words Luck was using to describe his sense of self during his neverending cycle of pain and treatment.  They're words I use all the time. It consumes your entire being until you dont even know who you are, with it or without it.  It's a mental health issue and one I know all to well.  I dont blame him at all for retiring from the thing kicking the s#*+ out of him daily.  Not a day goes by that I dont wish I could do the same. Beyond my own disappointment about this season and my admitted momentary lapses in perspective I wish him the best.  What hes going through eclipses contracts, money, fame and fans.......put simply, its just bigger. I just hope he heals, in every sense of the word. 

 

Well stated and I wish you the best in your battle

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It’s what I tried to relate in another thread. In high school, in 1972, I talked to my neighbor returning from war, with part of his hand blown off. We had a mutual friend who had committed suicide after he came home.  The neighbor told me: “No man can judge another man’s pain.”

 

I realize,  maybe I shouldn’t mention war injuries in an NFL forum, but mental pain isn’t understood.  My only hope is that Andrew recovers, both physically, and mentally.

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