Lessons From Andrew Luck

Some (or many) readers of this blog may not follow American Football at all.  While this post will tell the story of one particular player, its really about much larger points.  So even if you don't follow what happens on the gridiron, hang in there, and read on!

Andrew Luck played football for Stanford University.  Besides being an extremely talented player, he was a was revered as a leader.  Putting it into context, Stanford is already chock full of extremely smart people who will become future leaders, and Andrew was a leader for them.  Luck could have entered into pro football in 2010 but chose to stay with his teammates for one more season, and to earn his degree in architecture. 

In 2011, Luck became the #1 player picked in the draft by the Indianapolis Colts.  His career would be very successful as he would lead the team to multiple playoff appearances, and set many Colts, and NFL records along the way.  The last few years he would suffer some injuries which became difficult for him.  Suddenly, in 2019 he would decide to retire.

What's unfortunate is that the news of his retirement broke while he was on the sidelines watching his Colts play in a preseason game.  He was still nursing a calf strain and was not in uniform.  The fans began to get word via the internet that he had decided earlier that day to call it quits. 

Then...the unthinkable happened.  The fans, HIS fans, booed him as he left the field.  A man who had served them so faithfully and been such an example of leadership and class was BOOED off the field.  And for what?  Maybe he was the quarterback for their fantasy football team?  Perhaps they were worried about how it would effect their Super Bowl chances?

Andrew Luck is by all accounts an amazing leader.  He was known to recommend books to his teammates because he wanted them to enjoy his passion for reading.  He turned down being #1 in the 2010 draft so he could finish his commitment to his education and his teammates.  He was known to compliment the defensive payers who would pummel him on their good play.  He married his long time girlfriend and they are expecting their first child.  And THIS is who they selfishly booed off of the field.

Andrew simply stated that he didn't feel it deep in his heart anymore.  He couldn't justify the physical demands, the injuries, and the risk of permanent disability (especially head trauma) anymore.  He wants to explore other interests in his life.  He wants to be healthy enough to enjoy his wife and new child.  One writer quipped that this makes him the typical millennial, wanting the glory without putting in the work.  That writer had never played the game, never had the accomplishments, and likely never did anything more strenuous than carry a pack of paper to his desk.

There is a bright lesson to be taken from this story, and a dark one.  The dark lesson is that all those supporters immediately turned their back on his because they could only think about their own narrative.  As long as he was winning games and willing to donate his pound of flesh, they loved him.  But the minute he made a decision for himself, those pats on the back turned to stabs.  Now they sit around and cry foul about what horrors he has suddenly brought to them.  As though the Indianapolis Colts somehow holds the fate of the free world in its hands.

The bright lesson is that Andrew Luck had the courage to be the master of his own destiny.  He knew that many people depended on him on the field, and yet he chose to follow his heart and do what was right for him and his young family.  Make no mistake about it, he left fame and fortune behind and was willing to leave tens-of-millions-of-dollars on the table while doing it.  But as he probably did in all of those math classes he aced at Stanford, he weighed all sides of the equation.  He calculated each factor, and he knew what he needed.

My friends, our decisions will always be up for debate by others who do not live our lives.  Perhaps the majority of those around us have only the capacity to see what it means for their own agenda.  But when those boos stop (and they will stop), you need only to answer to your own heart.  And if you can look yourself in the mirror and know that you were led by your heart and that you did what you felt was right - you will not lose.  

Be well and God bless.    Tom