The world of professional football (and sports for that matter) was brought to a screeching halt about halfway through what was supposed to be a normal preseason National Football League game on August 24, when ESPN’s NFL beat reporter Adam Schefter dropped the following tweet:
Filed to ESPN: Andrew Luck has informed the Colts he is retiring from the NFL, per source. There will be a press conference Sunday to make it official, but Luck is mentally worn down, and now checking out.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 25, 2019
The tweet by Schefter is being considered by some to the biggest NFL scoop in the Twitter era, and like Andrew Luck’s announcement, seemingly came out of nowhere in the middle of an uneventful preseason football game.
What makes this story even crazier is the fact that Schefter’s tweet didn’t come out before or after the preseason football game. No, it came during the middle of play, when Luck (who wasn’t playing due to injury concerns) was still standing on the sideline watching his teammates. Luck, however, was just about the only person in the stadium or on television watching the game. All eyes were trained on Luck.
And when Luck finally left the field for what will surely be the final time, he was met with a mixed reaction. Sure, Lucas Oil Stadium was filled with a heavy ovation of cheers and applause for the once promising first round draft pick, but something unexpected happened as well.
Photo courtesy of Indy Star
Boos. Lots of boos. Some fans weren’t happy with Luck’s decision, and they let him know about it.
Were the fans booing because Luck was calling his career short? Were they upset about the fact that their team went from division champions in the making to a bottom-tier team? It’s not really known at this time why some fans were vocal in their displeasure with Luck’s retirement, but is known is that Luck’s teammates and other plays in the NFL aren’t happy with the response (via Indy Star).
Colts linebacker Darius Leonard had this to say:
“I did (hear it). It sucked, especially for a guy who’s been so much for this organization, for this city, for the team. Losing him is terrible, but you still don’t boo a guy who gave so much for this community. You’ve seen what he’s done over the years and how tough he is. for him to get booed his last time walking off that field sucked, not just for him but for the whole Colts organization.”
Colts center Ryan Kelly shared the same sentiments, but was a little more direct with his words:
“It was (expletive). (Expletive). I felt bad because I know that’s not how he wanted to go out, that’s not the way he wanted it to be released. It was a (expletive) moment.”
Luck’s teammates weren’t the only ones to hear the chorus of boos as the quarterback left the field, Luck himself heard them with his own ears, telling reporters:
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hear it. Yeah, it hurt.”