The controversy and mystique of the Capt. Andrew Luck Twitter account

This fellow named Capt. Andrew Luck. Just what is he trying to accomplish with his musings on Twitter? Who does he think he is, conjuring up images from a time gone by and plopping them into modern day professional sports mayhem?

And, who is he?

Don’t miss any of the Colts’ run towards the Super Bowl. Subscribe to IndyStar for just $0.99 per month for the first 3 months!

In a direct message interview this week, Capt. Andrew Luck answered some questions.

Did you ever play football? "As a kid for recreation." Do you live in Indy? "No."

How did you come up with the idea for this account? "Years ago, I came across a gallery of memes on a sports site. I can't recall the exact (site), maybe Deadspin, maybe SI, which featured pro athletes placed in historical periods of time. One of them appeared to be Andrew Luck in the era of the Civil War. Being a fan of his and of history, I thought it may be funny to send 'letters' to his mother from the 'battlefield.' I began sending them to friends via texts until one suggested I start a Twitter account for the character. And so I did." 

How do you come up with the brilliant writing? "Honestly, off the top of my head."

Anything else you might want to add? "No, thank you." 

The Colts comeback season:The tale told by Captain Andrew Luck

Captain Andrew Luck best:These tweets are the 10 finest we could find

Cheering for the Colts

Capt. Luck is standoffish in his social media style, as well. Some might call him snobbish. He has liked only 31 tweets since he launched his Twitter account at 1:14 p.m. on Dec. 24 of 2015.

For comparison, his latest tweet Wednesday morning -- "Dearest mother, I have received your care package of braised pigeon shins and fresh Squirrel Oil. By way of Chief trickery, the unit lost a day’s travel after reaching Lawrence only to discover Kansas City is actually in Missouri. No bother. Our focus remains unfazed, Andrew" -- had 18,000 likes and 2,900 retweets within 90 minutes.

Among questions the captain didn't answer in the exchange: Gender, age, career, whether she/he is a writer by trade and a prediction for Saturday's game against Kansas City.

"The character doesn’t do predictions," Capt. Luck said. "I, personally, will be cheering with all my might for the Colts."

A diehard Colts fan and a history buff? Hmmmm, let's take a gander at that.

For all of the captain's nearly half a million followers, he follows just two accounts — the official Colts handle and Ken Burns, known for his historic documentaries, including a series on the Civil War.

"Mr. Burns did the Civil War documentary and it is brilliant," the person behind Capt. Luck said when asked what is so special about Burns. "The character is of that era."

Capt. Luck most certainly isn't giving up his/her real life identity: "Anonymity is a large part of fans' enjoyment of the character. And I prefer it remain. Regards," she/he wrote from Capt. Andrew Luck's Twitter account.

Meet the meme maker: An NFL editor created the Luck Civil War meme

'Capt. Andrew Luck' revealed! Colts play along with Twitter account

Let the digging begin

And so, when the one person who should have the answer to a burning question won't answer, the digging must begin.

Dearest Capt. Luck, we regret to inform you that we will now try to unearth your identity as best we can.

First stop, the Colts: "Sorry, we made a commitment to let the Captain be the Captain. Wish I could help you," said chief operating officer Pete Ward.

Next, Peter Carmichael, the director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania who happens to be a Colts fan and was a source in a recent Washington Post story about Capt. Luck. 

"This question must be asked. Are you, Peter Carmichael, the real Capt. Andrew Luck?"

Laughter erupts on the other end of the line.

"I thought people might say, 'Hey, this could be Carmichael,' because I love the Colts so much," he said. "No, I wish I were. I wish I had that kind of creativity to do that. I wish I had been smart enough."

Carmichael grew up in Indianapolis. He graduated from Pike High School in 1984, the same year the Colts moved to Indianapolis. He attended the first exhibition game and went to IUPUI for his undergraduate degree.

He bleeds blue from his desk in Pennsylvania. He also is author of “The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought and Survived in Civil War Armies.”   

Would have been the perfect Capt. Luck, so who does he think it might be?

"This is a person who I can’t believe is a professional historian," he said. "Not because  a professional historian would be disdainful of it, but there is a creativity here."  

The only person in the field he thinks it could be, and it's just conjecture, is Brian Dirck, a professor of history at Anderson University, where the Colts have often held the team's training camp.

"I'm afraid not," Dirck told IndyStar. "I wish it were." 

Though not a sports fan of any kind, Keith Bohannon, a professor of history at the University of West Georgia, is adamant about one thing. There is not a historian behind the Capt. Luck Twitter account.

"There are very few, if any, references to actual Civil War battles, places, weapons, personalities, or aspects of soldier life," he said. "I really don't know or care anything about the NFL, but my guess is that the writer is probably more of a football fan than a Civil War buff."

Or possibly, a sports figure? Many have long wished that it were Luck himself. Alas, that seems to not be the case.

"I doubt he'd take the time to do it," said Derek Schultz, co-host of Fox Sports' Query & Schultz on 97.5-FM and 1260-AM. "I'm going to say it's Chuck Pagano just because it would be hilarious if true."

A brilliant PR move?

Something caught our attention from the Colts' Ward. He used the word we. "We made a commitment to let the Captain be the Captain."

Could this account be driven by the team itself, a brilliant PR move?

Rebecca Gilliland, a professor of communication and director of the public relations program at University of Indianapolis said, if so, that's genius.

"Because it’s storytelling, which is what good PR should use more of," she said. "And it’s written, directed at that Midwestern spirit of positivity and optimism."

And those photos, the savvy to create those photos, along with the writing is consistent in style and form. It is meticulous — what  a PR professional would want to accomplish, she said.

"Still, it doesn’t shout 'PR professional' to me simply because of the lack of hashtags and other drivers," said Gilliland, who also runs UIndy's student-led PR agency Top Dog Communication. "It’s hard to give up that opportunity even if trying to be elusive."

If not Colts' PR, Gilliland's best guess?

"Maybe Archie Manning," she said. "He wishes Peyton would’ve written letters to his dad like this."

Capt. Luck is a good son. A consistent son, always thinking of his mother. And he has been commended for his good deeds, Capt. Luck said.

"Social media can be a pretty nasty place," he said. "I have had countless people remark that the character (and) account are a breath of fresh air."

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @DanaBenbow. Reach her via e-mail: dbenbow@indystar.com.