Andrew Luck talks about why he walked away

[2006Coltsbestever]

4 minutes ago, Flash7 said:

1. He said so.

 

2. He went through the entire off season getting ready to play.

 

3. He said 2018 was the happiest he had been playing football with this teammates in a long time. He was in a system that suited him and he was looking forward to the next season. He said this when he won the award for comeback player of the year.

Problem is he was to injured to even play in camp or pre-season. I think he knew deep down he wasn't right mentally or physically after the 2018 season, that is JMO. I hate calling anyone a liar = Andrew Luck, not you, you just believed him, but I am not sure I believe any thing he said. It doesn't matter now, he is done and I wish him the best. 

[Flash7]

1 minute ago, DougDew said:

If you read the article, the injury/rehab cycle has nothing to do with why he retired.  That has just been the stated reason because its the easy thing for people to understand.

 

Not everybody is driven to play team sports, even if you did it for a number of years.  

 

This also gets back to the issue about coaches motivating players.  The players have to have the right personality to even be on a team to begin with and want to be there for 15 years if they could.  Some just want to be there to get a few million, then go do stuff they really want to do, never telling others that they never really liked the game that much to being with.

STOP with the Andrew Luck vs. Team Sports.

 

Luck played soccer as a kid. He played basketball. He played football. He played college football. He played professional football and then got injured. ALL of these are team sports.

 

Doesn't take a genius to figure out that a guy who got injured and retired from playing contact sports no longer plays contact sports.

[2006Coltsbestever]

5 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

He visited a HS team in Colorado and was asked about his regrets, and he says the timing of his retirement is his biggest regret. He felt he let people down. 

Yep. That was my exact post above.

[shasta519]

1 hour ago, DougDew said:

Can't read the whole article.  Behind a wall.

 

The first part of it sounds like he just never really wanted to be a football player.  The success and fame and sort of civic duty that goes with it is very tough to turn away from, but his personality seems just never suited to be that guy.

 

The whole article seems to have a theme like that. He says he felt like he had to go for it, given the potential he had. But it sounds like he eventually didn't really like being Andrew Luck the QB. The injuries and subsequent rehab also turned him into a person he really didn't like. 

 

I still think that Luck would have retired at some point early. Not in the same dramatic fashion as what eventually happened, but perhaps not much later in his career either.

[Happy2BeHere]

When you love a sport, a career, whatever that may be…more than your family it’s a bad deal all around. Since Brady has been mentioned I mean we really don’t know all the issues that he and Geisel had…but I would bet the odds of them still being together and not having those kids now a part of a broken family would be 60% more likely if Tom put his family before his career. It can’t be the money for them seriously. 
 

The timing of luck retiring sucked, but at the end of the day I applaud the man for doing what he needed to do for his family and himself first and foremost.

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

When he started having issues in his ankle it brought out the bad side of his personality. The part that would of tore his marriage apart. Luck had a hard time finding balance. It brought out the worst in his personality. The therapist actually taught him that he was more then a QB.  That ankle he said was hurting  him the entire 2018 season and he never said anything.

[DougDew]

10 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

When you read the story you see why Irsay said it was between his ears. Lucks OCD personality required therapy when he went to Netherlands. He was told there was too much pressure in Indy and he needed to get away.

When people feel overly obligated or responsible for the success of others, they can get a bit too deeply into the weeds.  Andrew seems like the guy who felt obligated to win for other people around him, not because he cared about it a much as they did.

 

I'll never forget his reaction to when Reggie caught the pass that blew out his knee.  It was a pass by Luck not put on the numbers and Reggie had to reach back for it and landed awkwardly.   You could see that Luck felt like he caused the great RW to get an injury...if only I was a little better with that throw.   

[DougDew]

10 minutes ago, Flash7 said:

STOP with the Andrew Luck vs. Team Sports.

 

Luck played soccer as a kid. He played basketball. He played football. He played college football. He played professional football and then got injured. ALL of these are team sports.

 

Doesn't take a genius to figure out that a guy who got injured and retired from playing contact sports no longer plays contact sports.

STOP with the idea that Luck wanted to be a team sports hero and only injury kept him from doing it in perpetuity.

 

 A lot of kids play team sports in school because that's the kind of sports that dominate school sports.  Its where schools put their programs.  As kids grow up, they figure it out.  If you're really good at it, you might not listen to the little voice that's constantly telling you "nevertheless, this sucks" and keep doing it into your late 20s.

[Superman]

15 minutes ago, Happy2BeHere said:

When you love a sport, a career, whatever that may be…more than your family it’s a bad deal all around. Since Brady has been mentioned I mean we really don’t know all the issues that he and Geisel had…but I would bet the odds of them still being together and not having those kids now a part of a broken family would be 60% more likely if Tom put his family before his career. It can’t be the money for them seriously. 
 

The timing of luck retiring sucked, but at the end of the day I applaud the man for doing what he needed to do for his family and himself first and foremost.

 

Glad to see you posting!

[Happy2BeHere]

2 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

Glad to see you posting!

Thank you. I am slowly working my way back. It’s been very rough. I have slept roughly 71 hours since Friday night (according to my bed). So I am not up much. Recovering from vein surgery and a subsequent pulmonary embolism as a result of it is quite difficult. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. I appreciate your post very much!  

[Mr.Debonair]

29 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

He visited a HS team in Colorado and was asked about his regrets, and he says the timing of his retirement is his biggest regret. He felt he let people down. 

Glad he acknowledges that!

[Superman]

17 minutes ago, shasta519 said:

 

The whole article seems to have a theme like that. He says he felt like he had to go for it, given the potential he had. But it sounds like he eventually didn't really like being Andrew Luck the QB. The injuries and subsequent rehab also turned him into a person he really didn't like. 

 

I still think that Luck would have retired at some point early. Not in the same dramatic fashion as what eventually happened, but perhaps not much later in his career either.

 

It seems like a reckoning was on the horizon, one way or the other. How he responded to that challenge might have been different, depending on what exactly the challenge was. For example, if he really started examining his motivations and sense of self after 2014, his realizations and his feelings toward football and life might have led him in a different direction. He might have forced himself to reconcile his football life with his personal life sooner, reached a more healthy balance, and been better equipped to handle the emotions and disappointment that came with being injured.

 

For that matter, if he learned in his late teens or early 20s how to see himself more realistically, he might have been better equipped to be a leader on a football team. Instead, I think he saw leading and having success as being closely linked to control, and when things started happening outside of his control, he felt helpless and didn't know how to respond.

 

I guess we can play the "what if" game forever, changing variables and running simulations, and in the end, none of it matters.

 

But I don't think I agree that he didn't like being Andrew Luck the QB. I think he just never took the time to understand what it meant to be Andrew Luck the QB, and how to balance that with being a real person. And when being a QB became a mostly negative experience for him, he decided to extricate that part of his left and find contentment with what remained -- including his new family -- and found out that he didn't need to be a QB to be happy and fulfilled. 

 

And big picture, I'm fine with that. It sucks for the Colts and us fans. And the specifics of how things went down and when will always be a sore spot. But stepping back from that, it is what it is. I had already experienced closure on this, and I've moved on. Hopefully others find some closure with this article. And maybe Luck will feel more comfortable resurfacing moving forward, as the constant wondering about whether he'll come back starts to go away.

[King Colt]

He left because it was not the life he wanted to live. That's good enough for me and the way I have always lived my life.

[#12.]

Depressing article, really.  I didn't leave it feeling that Luck is now happy and at peace. It's a curse of highly intelligent people like him, but it seems he overthinks everything in life.  Once he gets his teaching degree and perhaps coaches, he'll probably want something else.  

 

Being the old man back on Stanford's campus a decade later would be surreal and not necessarily a positive experience.

 

 

 

[RollerColt]

7 minutes ago, Happy2BeHere said:

Thank you. I am slowly working my way back. It’s been very rough. I have slept roughly 71 hours since Friday night (according to my bed). So I am not up much. Recovering from vein surgery and a subsequent pulmonary embolism as a result of it is quite difficult. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. I appreciate your post very much!  

Keep fighting the good fight. Your Colts family is with you!

[Jason_]

45 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

That injury would not of prevented him from playing. It was more of a mental thing in his head and whether he wanted to save his marriage and be more then just a QB. His personality did not let him have a balanced life.  

 

Thanks for your expert opinion doctor 

[#12.]

6 minutes ago, Happy2BeHere said:

Thank you. I am slowly working my way back. It’s been very rough. I have slept roughly 71 hours since Friday night (according to my bed). So I am not up much. Recovering from vein surgery and a subsequent pulmonary embolism as a result of it is quite difficult. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. I appreciate your post very much!  

 

Get plenty of rest and try not to watch Matt Ryan throw a football.

[Happy2BeHere]

2 minutes ago, #12. said:

 

Get plenty of rest and try not to watch Matt Ryan throw a football.

My doctor said that Sunday night set my recovery my back at least another few months  

[2006Coltsbestever]

8 minutes ago, J@son said:

 

Thanks for your expert opinion doctor 

Yep, nobody really knows but once he wasn't playing in the pre-season, red flags were going up with me. I was on here thinking he would be fine and even posted telling people to stop worrying about it. He had a calf injury which is dangerous because that could turn into an Achilles injury. That is what happened to Durant. During that playoff game at KC it looked like he tweaked something with his shoulder again. His throws were slow and off.

[RollerColt]

9 minutes ago, Superman said:

But I don't think I agree that he didn't like being Andrew Luck the QB. I think he just never took the time to understand what it meant to be Andrew Luck the QB, and how to balance that with being a real person. And when being a QB became a mostly negative experience for him, he decided to extricate that part of his left and find contentment with what remained -- including his new family -- and found out that he didn't need to be a QB to be happy and fulfilled. 

Life happens so quickly. And our youthful years go by in a whirlwind. You couple that with how quickly his life elevated in terms of football, and he probably was left wondering "who am I?". 

[RollerColt]

Just now, lilolemoi said:

 

Brady divorced his first wife Bridget Moynihan and quickly moved onto a Brazilian supermodel. You wanna see that kind of confidence in a QB. It’s why Brady’s the GOAT and Luck is trout fishing in Indiana lol. Tbh Brady’s probably not too broken up about his divorce if Giselle gave him an ultimatum. She’s gotten too old to P whip him.

I could care less about Tom Brady as the GOAT. Good for *' him. FYI, you're on a Colts forum so don't expect us to worship his feet. His attitude rubs me the wrong way just like Joe Namath. But I'm all about family and children. I witness too many sad situations on a yearly basis of parents who only care for themselves. 

[lilolemoi]

Just now, RollerColt said:

I could care less about Tom Brady as the GOAT. Good for *' him. FYI, you're on a Colts forum so don't expect us to worship his feet. His attitude rubs me the wrong way just like Joe Namath. But I'm all about family and children. I witness too many sad situations on a yearly basis of parents who only care for themselves. 

 

Don’t have to worship Brady to count his Super Bowl rings. It’s been a long time since the Colts had one, and they blame their QB carousel for that starting with Luck. If he had that quitter mentality, he probably wasn’t gonna win you one, anyway. So, he did you a favor by retiring. That was a long time ago, and Colts should’ve figured it out by now.

[RollerColt]

Just now, lilolemoi said:

Don’t have to worship Brady to count his Super Bowl rings. It’s been a long time since the Colts had one, and they blame their QB carousel for that starting with Luck. If he had that quitter mentality, he probably wasn’t gonna win you one, anyway. So, he did you a favor by retiring. That was a long time ago, and Colts should’ve figured it out by now.

Sometimes life is bigger than rings. But, that's coming from someone who knows I'll never be immortalized in society. My dreams are a bit smaller. Be a good dad, and a good teacher. My opinion of Brady won't change, not even if he wins another Super Bowl this year. 

[lilolemoi]

4 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

Sometimes life is bigger than rings. But, that's coming from someone who knows I'll never be immortalized in society. My dreams are a bit smaller. Be a good dad, and a good teacher. My opinion of Brady won't change, not even if he wins another Super Bowl this year. 

 

Well, you wouldn’t know life is bigger than football the way everyone in Indianapolis is crying about a bad season. Omg it’s the end of the world if Matt Ryan fumbles or Shaquille Leonard is on IR or Ryan Kelly’s sad so please excuse his terrible play lately. Since you seem to prefer soap operas to good football, then enjoy this 2022 season. I don’t judge people for making the decisions that are best for them whether it’s Brady divorcing or Luck retiring. I’m more interested in the game.

[chad72]

Water under the bridge. It doesn't move the needle except for those yearning for closure but the closure doesn't do much for the Colts anyways. 

 

[RollerColt]

1 minute ago, lilolemoi said:

 

Well, you wouldn’t know life is bigger than football the way everyone in Indianapolis is crying about a bad season. Omg it’s the end of the world if Matt Ryan fumbles or Shaquille Leonard is on IR or Ryan Kelly’s sad so please excuse his terrible play lately. Since you seem to prefer soap operas to good football, then enjoy this 2022 season. I don’t judge people for making the decisions that are best for them whether it’s Brady divorcing or Luck retiring. I’m more interested in the game.

The forum is always going to be louder about the drama of a losing season. If you came to Indiana, real Indiana in person, you'd find most people here shrug their shoulders and move on. That's what I'm doing at this point. 

[DougDew]

22 minutes ago, #12. said:

Depressing article, really.  I didn't leave it feeling that Luck is now happy and at peace. It's a curse of highly intelligent people like him, but it seems he overthinks everything in life.  Once he gets his teaching degree and perhaps coaches, he'll probably want something else.  

 

Being the old man back on Stanford's campus a decade later would be surreal and not necessarily a positive experience.

 

 

 

Yeah, I got the sense that he is still a bit torn over his decision.  Sort of the same "should I or shouldn't I" struggle that he had while playing.

 

An introvert is a person who mentally wears out quickly when around lots of people.  it doesn't even have to be a 60,000 person stadium.  It could be team meetings and practice.  it doesn't mean that you don't interact with people well, or party with them and genuinely enjoy it.  It just means that you can only spend so many hours of the day doing it before you feel the need to be alone and recharge your batteries.  Extrovert is the opposite of that, they get recharged by being around people and can only take so much time of being alone.

 

The instructor who taught the classes I attended about this was himself an introvert, so his class time was pretty much all of the "people time" he desired before he had to be alone for a few hours.  He was really good, and you'd never know he was introverted because of how he interacted when the moment called for it. 

 

It must be tremendously mentally taxing for an introvert to play professional sports and be around all of those people for so many hours during the season.  Something they probably don't look forward to, but wish they did.

 

[OLD FAN MAN]

1 hour ago, coming on strong said:

Doing it in the off-season before the draft would be better at least gives the colts a chance to draft someone.  

yes like josh allen

[chad72]

4 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

The forum is always going to be louder about the drama of a losing season. If you came to Indiana, real Indiana in person, you'd find most people here shrug their shoulders and move on. That's what I'm doing at this point. 

 

Yeah, I remember some New Yorkers visiting Indy before the 2009 AFCCG. They saw Peyton Manning on the streets and when they visited bars, just like you said, it wasn't the greatest spectacle when it came to day to day life, they were surprised but hey, that is us. It is not like Boston where they breathe Red Sox etc.

 

The fan forum is like sensationalized click bait a lot of times, lol  

[chad72]

Just now, OLD FAN MAN said:

yes like josh allen

 

Allen was in the 2018 draft, not 2019 draft when Luck retired. Luck played a good 2018 season and lost in the divisional round of the playoffs to Mahomes.

[lilolemoi]

9 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

The forum is always going to be louder about the drama of a losing season. If you came to Indiana, real Indiana in person, you'd find most people here shrug their shoulders and move on. That's what I'm doing at this point. 

 

I lived in Ohio for six months and have done my time in the heartland. It’s almost Christmas when small town America comes alive. Enjoy your families since they mean so much to you. I skipped the Cowboys game and ate Korean BBQ with a friend who is leaving for Tokyo then Bali. I can see how sports is an obsession, though when your franchise is all you’ve got. I’m in LA. We aren’t a football city even after the Rams won.

[RollerColt]

3 minutes ago, chad72 said:

 

Yeah, I remember some New Yorkers visiting Indy before the 2009 AFCCG. They saw Peyton Manning on the streets and when they visited bars, just like you said, it wasn't the greatest spectacle when it came day to day life, they were surprised but hey, that is us. It is not like Boston where they breathe Red Sox etc.

I think that's another reason why Luck stayed in Indy for as long as he did. We Hoosiers are a friendly bunch, but we're also pretty laid back and mostly keep to ourselves while out in public. It's just a simpler, slower lifestyle compared to the coasts. 

[NFLfan]

2 hours ago, RollerColt said:

I'm glad you mentioned across all sports. Not sure what it's like in NY, but here in Indiana parents are over the top when watching their kids play. It's as if the child's performance is a direct reflection on them as a person. Go to any high school basketball game and you'll see it. Parents red in the face screaming at the court, trying to bark directions... Saying nasty things to opposing players... 

 

This past weekend I went in to my classroom to get some extra work finished. I'm just down the hall from our gym for scene setting. There was a youth basketball game going on, and I could hear the parents yelling so loud it almost sounded like they were hemorrhaging or something. 

 

Newsflash to parents: Most players can't hear you. When they're in the zone and focused as a player, they don't notice what is being screamed about. The only one I could hear during a game was the coach. 

 

I have heard about that across the country. Years ago, I used to enjoy listening to sports radio. One person with a one-hour radio show on youth sports used to talk about a lot of different issues involving youth sports, including travel teams and parents' behavior at games. The host Rick Wolff once talked about a hockey coach (in Connecticut, I believe) or it may have been a ref who was killed by a parent because of a decision made on the ice. I hear that has happened many times. 

 

I used to enjoy his show when I listened.

 

 

[Restinpeacesweetchloe]

4 minutes ago, RollerColt said:

I think that's another reason why Luck stayed in Indy for as long as he did. We Hoosiers are a friendly bunch, but we're also pretty laid back and mostly keep to ourselves while out in public. It's just a simpler, slower lifestyle compared to the coasts. 

My guess he will be back. No mention of him selling his house. Said he wants to teach history and maybe coach.

[Flash7]

1 hour ago, DougDew said:

STOP with the idea that Luck wanted to be a team sports hero and only injury kept him from doing it in perpetuity.

 

 A lot of kids play team sports in school because that's the kind of sports that dominate school sports.  Its where schools put their programs.  As kids grow up, they figure it out.  If you're really good at it, you might not listen to the little voice that's constantly telling you "nevertheless, this sucks" and keep doing it into your late 20s.

1. Doug, Andrew Luck was a team sports hero. Do you doubt this?

A. Team captain in high school and high school valedictorian.

B. Team captain at Stanford and two-time Heisman finalist.

C. #1 overall draft pick for the Colts.

D. #3 all time passing leader in Colts history during his short career, playing in 86 games. #1 is Manning with 208 games played and #2 is Johnny U with 206 games played.

I could go on with his accolades, but you get the point. He did not shy away from greatness. He was driven to be the best football player he could be and he specifically stated he loved playing football because it was a team sport where you were rewarded by meritocracy.

 

2. I don't think only injuries kept him from playing. I think the injuries were the main catalyst. I honestly think that if you take away the broken ribs, the peeing of blood, the concussion, the shoulder injury, and the lower leg injury, he would be playing today. I think the injuries led him to a dark place mentally, forcing him to question his worth. Was he just a football player? Was that all that he had to offer? Who would he be without football? I am under the impression that he worked out these inner demons to the best of his ability, fought to get back on the field with his teammates, and the joy of playing football returned during the 2018 season. As the season went on and ended and he continued to deal with the lower leg injury during the off season and through the preseason, the depression and lowly thoughts resurfaced. When he found out he could not start the season, it boiled over culminating in his retirement. 

 

3. A lot of kids do play team sports in high school. And then they grow up, get jobs, have families and other responsibilities. They stop playing team sports for numerous reasons, (mainly because organized team activities require more people, thus more organization and time commitment, which they do not have given their responsibilities as adults). Could psychological reasons play a part in their decision. Sure. But I think for most people, it's that they get older, have less time, less energy to play contact sports, and decide to get a hobby or choose a sport that they could enjoy during their free time (like bicycling, fishing, hunting, etc.).

 

It's really not a shock to see someone retire from contact sports and do something less physically and mentally demanding. It actually happens all the time. 

 

I played organized sports when I was younger, but now with my job and family responsibilities, I enjoy weight lifting,  HIIT, walking, and fishing because I can do it during my free time when I am not working, taking my kids to their activities, or spending time with my wife/family. With Luck being married, going back to school, having kids and more responsibilities, I can't see why it would be any different for him. 

 

 

[Myles]

I'm with those who stated that his retirement didn't bother them, it was the when that bothered them.

[RollerColt]

9 minutes ago, Restinpeacesweetchloe said:

My guess he will be back. No mention of him selling his house. Said he wants to teach history and maybe coach.

As a fellow history teacher I'll gladly be his mentor. 

[OffensivelyPC]

2 hours ago, Flash7 said:

Does anyone have access to ESPN+ so that you can tell us about the rest of the story?

go to r/Colts on Reddit.  Luck's article will be towards the top of the sub and someone on there tells you how to get your hands on the article with a link.  I did it just fine (phone because of work firewalls).

[OffensivelyPC]

1 hour ago, Happy2BeHere said:

Thank you. I am slowly working my way back. It’s been very rough. I have slept roughly 71 hours since Friday night (according to my bed). So I am not up much. Recovering from vein surgery and a subsequent pulmonary embolism as a result of it is quite difficult. I would not wish this on my worst enemy. I appreciate your post very much!  

did you post an update anywhere?  I was hoping to read it.  I saw the original post yesterday.  Maybe you could update it?

[GoColts8818]

2 hours ago, Flash7 said:

Does anyone have access to ESPN+ so that you can tell us about the rest of the story?

Long story short Football and rehab made him someone he didn’t want to be and it was going to cost him everything because he had no identity other than being a QB.  He got help for it and learned there was more to life than football.  He accomplished his goal of being able to come back and play and prove he still could.  He hurt his ankle/foot midway through that season and hurt it worse in the pro-bowl and when he started to rehab he started to find himself slipping into being the person he hated again and this time he realized there was more to life than football so he decided to walk away rather than risk losing everything.  
 

He regrets the timing of his retirement and does feel like he let his teammates down with it but he had to do what was best for him and they understood that.  
 

Fast forward he’s happy but realized he still loves the game of football but doesn’t want to play but wants to coach so he’s going back to school to become a teacher so he can coach.