I was driving to work today (August 25, 2019) and was surprised to hear the ESPN personality on the radio say that it was an "abomination" that the Indianapolis Colts Fans were booing Andrew Luck as he walked off the field in anticipation of his retirement.
An abomination? How do you figure? If I was there, I would have booed too.
If it was 2014, yes, then it would have been an abomination to boo. Luck was coming off of his third consecutive Pro-Bowl and he had out-performed his contract by a TON. He was injured in 2015 but, unfortunately, injuries are a part of the game.
In 2016 Andrew Luck signed a 5 year-$120 million contract. He then played 38 games, won one playoff game, and then retired. By any NFL matrix, he was way OVERPAID for his statistics. You could argue that he left millions on the table by walking away right now and you'd be right, but he's stepping away from the game AFTER making $100,000,000.
Let's say I spent $3,400 for Season Tickets. (Feasible. $340 a ticket on the fourth level for 10 games, remember you have to pay for exhibition games. And, if you included parking and food in that price tag, you would easily spend over $5,000 a year for one average seat.) The NFL isn't just a game, it's your entertainment dollar. You should be able to (non-violently) voice your opinion in the form of cheering or booing however you see fit. Players in general want it both ways. They say that football is just a game, but then they aren't playing for free. And the NFL wants it both ways, too. They say the game is bigger than any one player but then they market the hell out of its biggest players. Maybe the NFL should give their players guaranteed contracts if they truly believed in the well-being of its players.
Your argument is that Andrew Luck walked away before his life was ruined by injuries and that's good. Well, okay then, if the NFL really is that dangerous, maybe we should just ban it. No one will get hurt. The NFL could change its business model and become the NTFL, you know, the National Touch Football League. The players could run around in lacrosse equipment with flags tied to their belts. You know what else would disappear besides the extra padding? All the extra zeros at the end of a quarterback's paycheck.
You can see the sarcasm oozing off of your illuminated screen? You say that Andrew Luck is a good guy and deserves to go out on his own terms? What, is he the only good guy in the NFL? Listen, you can take a half a dozen different angles on Luck's Retirement, just don't tell me my (non-violent) reaction is wrong.
Andrew Luck's feelings were hurt? Fair enough. He has 50 years to decompress from his mental trauma. He can take a million dollars of his earnings and buy himself a nice little island, far, far away, where no one can hear you boo.
Editor's Note: Wow, someone's cranky today. Would you like to talk about it?
2 Days Later:
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