Jim Ayello

Indianapolis Star

This story was originally published Dec. 29, 2016.

Dearest Abigail,

I fear the worst has happened. Reports have flooded camp that, without my knowledge, I have become meme. In truth, I fail to fully comprehend its meaning. I do not feel meme. Yet apparatuses of the future have long bewildered me. I have asked the younger lads in my company to instruct me on my condition, but their prognosis, I fear, is dim: Once you are meme, they say, you are always meme.

My only good fortune is that they say I can live a long and happy life as meme. Pray that they are correct.

My love always,

Gen. Andrew Luck

INDIANAPOLIS — If Ryan Van Bibber ever bumps into Andrew Luck, he vows to reveal to the Colts quarterback his secret identity: a founding father of the Andrew Luck Civil War general meme.

“Absolutely,” Van Bibber said with a laugh during an interview with IndyStar. “That would definitely call for a follow-up letter.”

It’s been a while since Van Bibber last penned a missive to Abigail — the meme has taken on a life of its own without him. And Van Bibber's fine with that. But he has not ruled out mounting a comeback of sorts, teasing about ideas for marching Gen. Luck in a new direction. But we won’t spoil that surprise here.

What we will do is have Van Bibber reveal the long overdue origin story of what some of have called the “funniest sports meme on the internet .”

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

Andrew Luck:I was 'scared in my core' I wouldn't play football again

The idea is born: 'My god, he looks like Civil War general'

When speaking with IndyStar, Van Bibber didn't remember exactly when it happened. He’s wasn't even sure who originally came up with the idea (we eventually found out). Most of what he can remember about the creation of Gen. Andrew Luck was the phrase that has spawned many a successful creative endeavor:

Wouldn’t it be funny if …

“I want to say it was the playoffs a couple of years ago,” said Van Bibber, a sports editor at SB Nation. “We all work on Slack, this online communication system, and we were watching the Colts game, and we started talking about Luck and his bizarre facial hair. You know, Victorian Era facial hair ... heavily Burnsided (laughs). It just kind of came up, and then someone said, ‘My god, he looks like a Civil War general.' ... And that eventually turned into, ‘You should write a letter as Luck as a Civil War general.’ ”

Turns out, Van Bibber was ideally suited to pen the general’s missives home. He owns a history major, has studied the Civil War at length and counts himself among the many fans of Ken Burns’ monumental documentary, “The Civil War,” which relied heavily upon narration of letters written to loved ones.

Van Bibber also credits “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” which frequently parodied Burns’ documentary, as inspiration for his dispatches.

But first, there was Photoshop and a 'perfect' Andrew Luck meme

But as fans of the meme well know, the words are only half the fun. The morphing of Luck into Civil War regalia was the other vital component, and for that, we have to go back in time a little further — to a man named Rodger Sherman. Before Van Bibber ever put quill to parchment as Gen. Luck, Sherman documented Luck's resemblance to a certain Civil War general.

In a Jan. 11, 2014 post, Sherman became the first to Photoshop Luck's face into the portrait of Union Brigadier General Rufus King.

According to the post, King's was the first image that appeared in a Google search for "Civil War General."

And for Van Bibber, there was no reason to look any further.

“It’s perfect, and it was tailor-made for Photoshop,” Van Bibber said. “Plain background, solo picture, it was perfect.”

And thus, Gen. Andrew Luck was born.

The SB Nation editor writes a letter as Gen. Andrew Luck

Van Bibber’s first letter was delivered to Martha, (and the sports world) Jan. 4, 2015 after the Colts defeated the Cincinnati Bengals . It read, in part:

We successfully defended the garrison at Lucas Oil from a battalion of Cincinnati-born marauders straying far away from their border country barracks nestled upon the hotly contested Ohio River. And what strange brigands opposed us! They were led by one Major Dalton, who has won many campaigns in his years as a leading plunderer, but his offenses have stalled in the winter months, leading many back East to question his bona fides. But I shall not question such a valiant warrior! I too know this feeling. Tis one thing to fend off a gregarious bunch of Chiefs with a rally. It is quite another matter itself to hold off a whirlwind of devils such as these!

“It was one of those things that just snowballed,” Van Bibber said of his and General Luck's success. “It started with us and our friends, then other outlets picked it up, retweeted it and shared it, and it just picked up steam. … But I had no idea it would take off like it did.”

Van Bibber would write seven to 10 more letters to great fanfare before hanging up his Civil War era keyboard. (You can find them all here.)

His reason for going AWOL on the general? “The joke eventually wears out,” he said.

Well, maybe for him it did. But for others, the fun was just beginning.

Meme morphs into a parody Twitter account for Captain Andrew Luck

While many have had their fun with the Civil War Luck meme since its inception, none has enjoyed the same prolific success of Twitter’s “Capt. Andrew Luck.”

That account has breathed new life into the meme. With a battalion of more than 43,000 followers, Capt. Andrew Luck has swept across the nation, making an appearance on ESPN’s Mike and Mike talk show and even receiving retweets from some celebrities — among them notorious Colts fan Rob Lowe.

Though the person behind the account wished to remain anonymous — “I think it is more fun if people don't know who is behind the curtain” — he was happy to share his backstory.

“A few years back, I happened upon some memes of assorted celebrities and athletes photoshopped to make them look like they were from different periods of time. I saw a couple of Luck and just got this voice in my head while music from Ken Burns' amazing doc was also playing. I cracked myself up and started sending 'letters' to friends as Capt. Luck when the Colts would play their teams. They loved them, and one suggested I make an account, so I did last December and ran it all season.”

The man behind Capt. Luck said he wants to let Van Bibber and Sherman know that they are "geniuses" for coming up with character and image. He said he "hopes they get a kick out of it."

"I want each letter to be enjoyable, original and give fans a chuckle. I just share as they come to me. ... Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Cap gets a lot of (direct messages) from people complimenting the letters. People seem to like it. I like to make them laugh. So, it works."

And what does Van Bibber think of Capt. Luck's success?

"I should have copyrighted it," Van Bibber said before laughing. "No, it's flattering to see someone take something you've created and run with it. I'm glad people have enjoyed it."

Follow IndyStar Sports producer Jim Ayello on Twitter: @jamesayello.