(Associated Press)
TIM DAHLBERG August 25, 2019
The timing was bad, but even worse was the reaction of the fans who took it upon themselves to boo Andrew Luck the last time he walked off a football field in an Indianapolis Colts uniform.
He made the only decision he could for his health and happiness. They responded by robbing him of what he so richly deserved for putting his body on the line for the Colts — one final moment to savor the game he still loves despite all the pain it has cost him.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I heard the reaction,” Luck said after it was all finally over for good Saturday night in Indianapolis. “Yeah, it hurt. I’ll be honest, it hurt.”
Fans will be fans, of course, especially after a night spent drinking their way through yet another miserable preseason game. To be fair, the alcohol kicked in long before word started circulating at Lucas Oil Stadium that the Colts quarterback of the future was now the quarterback of the past and the realization began to sink in that there would be no Super Bowl this season.
One moment Luck was on the sideline chatting and joking with teammates. The next he was trying to avoid choking up as he stood before reporters to officially tell the football world he was done.
Done with taking vicious hits that rattled his bones and shook his brain. Done with trying to come back from the injuries that kept coming faster than any opposing linebacker.
“I feel like I can’t live the life I want to live,” Luck said. “I felt stuck in it and the only way I see out is to not play football. It’s taken my joy of this game away.”
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