Indianapolis Colts Fans Boo Andrew Luck Following Retirement Announcement

Andrew Luck was standing on the sideline at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday watching his Indianapolis Colts teammates play the Chicago Bears in a preseason game when the stunning news broke that the QB was retiring from the NFL.

How surreal must that have been for those fans who thought they’d just have a little fun at a preseason football game?

https://streamable.com/t0w07

Well, after learning the news some fans booed their (now former) QB as he left the field.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t hear it,” a disappointed Andrew Luck said of the boos during the postgame press conference where he confirmed his decision. “It hurt.”

The fact that Colts fans decided to boo Luck makes zero sense. In seven seasons with the team, he led them to the playoffs four times, and in the three years he didn’t take Indy to the postseason, it was because he missed games due to injury. In the end, the injuries proved to be too much.

https://twitter.com/DocMcCockiner/status/1165464722772307968?s=20

Luck’s finally memory of fans in Indy will be the fact that they booed him on the field, and he definitely didn’t sound happy about that when he was asked about the boos following the game.

After the game, Luck also confirmed that he was definitely retiring, something that ESPN had reported earlier in the night.

“I felt stuck and the only way out of it is to no longer play football,” Luck said. “it’s taken my joy away from the game.”

ESPN reported during the Colts’ preseason game against the Bears that Luck had informed the team of his decision. As word of the report spread around Lucas Oil Stadium, Luck was seen standing on the sidelines talking with his teammates. Once the game ended, fans booed him as he exited the field. The 29-year-old signal-caller ended up holding an impromptu press conference to confirm the news.

Luck told reporters that he planned to make the announcement on Sunday afternoon, but once the news broke he decided he had to address it Saturday night after the preseason game.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard addressed the boos. Although he confessed that he understood why the fans had an emotional response to the news, he made sure to put the retirement into perspective.

“For those people that booed tonight–this is an emotional night, I understand that. This young man did a lot for the city of Indianapolis. Nobody died.”