Andrew Luck’s abrupt retirement from professional football on Saturday night sent shockwaves through the National Football League. At age 29, with just six years under his belt as a pro, the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft walked away from his injury-plagued career just weeks before the 2019 season began.
Luck’s reported retirement led to an impromptu press conference where he officially announced his was done after the Colts played a home preseason game against the Chicago Bears. The news led to an outpouring of bad takes about Luck walking away after what he described as four years of pain and injuries that never fully healed. He was even booed by some fans as he left the field once news spread that he was retiring.
But it also came with an outpouring of support from fans and media members. And one prominent voice who paid tribute to Luck and his career was Mike Schur, the showrunner of Parks and Recreation and The Good Place. Schur actually worked with Luck on the former, and he had a great story about what Luck’s appearance on the show meant to the cast and crew.
The episode Luck appeared in came in Season 5, Episode 10 and was called Two Parties. In it, the men attempted to throw a bachelor party for Ben that ended up giving each member of the group their own slice of bachelor party because none of them had a proper experience. Each guy takes turns and Chris Pratt’s Andy gets to live out his Indianapolis Colts dreams on the Lucas Oil Field turf with Andrew Luck and Reggie Wayne.
Late Saturday night, hours after Luck officially retired, Schur posted a thread on Twitter sharing some details about the filming of that episode.
When we were making Parks and Recreation we shot scenes with the Colts. We were told we had maybe an hour with the players. Then Andrew Luck showed up, and he was an absolute delight. Warm, funny, generous. He threw TD passes to anyone who wanted one, just to make us happy. 1/
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) August 25, 2019
He made fifty fans that day. If the game isn’t bringing that guy joy anymore, it’s the game’s fault, not his. I love that he has the courage and integrity to walk away from this insane sport, and wish him nothing but health and happiness from whatever he does next. 3/3
— Ken Tremendous (@KenTremendous) August 25, 2019
Luck also appeared in another episode when Leslie had the town of Pawnee take part in the NFL’s Play 60 campaign.
It’s clear that Luck made a great impression on the Parks and Rec crew, and Schur certainly seemed happy that Luck decided to do what’s best for him. They even let him crack a joke at Jerry’s expense, after all.
