Most of this week, the biggest news in the NFL has been Andrew Luck’s decision to retire. The news leaked midway through the third quarter of a Colts’ preseason game by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. For Andrew Luck and Colts fans, the news was hard to accept.

Some Colts fans booed their seven-year franchise quarterback as soon as the news leaked. Their offensive leader since 2012 was greeted with disrespect from his fans in part due to the leak.

The booing is unacceptable. Luck’s predecessor at quarterback was Peyton Manning. Luck took over a franchise that struggled with Manning to a playoff berth right after his arrival in 2012.

In 2015, Luck led the Colts to an AFC Championship game. Regardless of the fact that Luck lost to the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, that will be one of his top achievements of his short NFL career.

Luck will not make it to the NFL. In his seven years in the NFL, Luck made an impact on the Colts as well as the NFL despite his injury-laden career.

Luck was the comeback player in his last year in the NFL in 2018. His season ended against the Tennessee Titans in the first round.

More than likely, Colts fans wanted their franchise quarterback healthy and starting in the first week of the season, but Luck suffered a preseason injury. So after Luck gave seven seasons of hard work to a franchise, he was booed by some fans instead of appreciated.

I am not a Colts fan, but I love sports. So when hearing of the boos and the news of Andrew Luck, I was disgusted. This man gave his all to the NFL, but he knew his body and he knew that football would ruin his future self.

I respect Luck. In his retirement interview, you could see the emotions of his decision and the fans get to him. With CTE and other injuries that can haunt a football player after his career, I think Luck made the right decision for his health.

We will never see Andrew Luck in the hall of fame. While his seven-year career was prodigious, it was not enough to make it to Canton, Ohio.

No matter what NFL team you are a fan of, you must respect Luck. You don’t have to like or dislike his decision. You have to respect his decision and respect what he has done as the Colts quarterback for the last seven years.

For Colts fans who booed, you are not true fans of Luck or the Colts. For seven years, Luck put his body on the line and gave you the best he could give you under the circumstances. The future is still bright for the Colts, and that’s the beauty of sports.

Blake Faith is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-2812 or at bmfaith@eiu.edu.