Andrew Luck is in on the Civil War joke

Luck hasn’t made many public appearances since retiring from the NFL, but he made a scene Thursday night

Former Stanford star quarterback Andrew Luck has remained largely private in his post-playing career, with no public social media presence.

Some things, however, make their way into the real world.

Luck, in a rare public appearance since retiring before the 2019 NFL season, appeared on Amazon’s Thursday Night Football postgame show in full Union Army regalia — a blue jacket and hat — reenacting an old meme.

The Captain Andrew Luck Twitter account debuted in 2015, and, well, you’ll have to read it to understand. Here’s the tweet he sent to celebrate his final victory, a playoff win over Houston:

Dearest Mama —

My absence from home will be extended. The unit triumphed over the Texans. Stupendous! It was a tough battle, but our lines held firm. I’m so excited that my pen trembles as I write. My sidearm and determination are correct. I adore you.

Andrew —

The person in charge of the account told the Indianapolis Star in 2019 that it was inspired by a photo gallery of NFL stars transported through time.

Following the 49ers’ victory over the New York Giants at Levi’s Stadium, Luck appeared on the show for a trivia contest between Stanford alumni (himself, Richard Sherman, and Sam Schwartzstein) and Cal alums (Tony Gonzalez, Steve Mariucci, and Nnamdi Asomugha).

He correctly answered a question about a former Cal student whose art collection served as the foundation for a Los Angeles museum (J. Paul Getty). But, unlike the Union Army, Luck’s Cardinals were defeated, with the Golden Bears triumphing on a tie-breaking question about how many Cal and Stanford graduates Amazon analyst and Harvard graduate Ryan Fitzpatrick had played with in the NFL (25).

This is not Luck’s first return to a football field since his retirement: this news organization reported just last week that Luck has been working as a quarterbacks coach at Palo Alto High School in between graduate classes at Stanford. He’s pursuing a master’s degree in education rather than strategic intelligence.

Captain Luck, we salute you.