MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

GOING BIG&

GIVING BACK

Grace and Rico Allen fi nd their dream home — and fi nd time to help those in need

BY TIM LINAFELT

BEFORE HE WAS A STAR with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, before she branched out to become a renowned lifestyle blogger and podcaster, and before they became parents of three children, Ricardo and Grace Allen were college sweethearts.

After a promising fi rst season on the Purdue University football team, Ricardo had become something of a big man on the school’s West Lafayette, Ind., campus. He was among the Boilermakers’ best defenders, and his image and likeness were featured on a slew of promotional materials — including a few billboards and busses.

Grace, however, wasn’t much of a football fan.

After meeting through a friend, Grace got Ricardo confused for someone else — another friend of a friend named, “Albert.” And she referred to Ricardo by that name. Frequently. “He never had the heart to correct me,” she remembered with a laugh.

It wasn’t until hours later that a young boy, who Grace had been babysitting, revealed her football faux pas. “I don’t know who this ‘Albert’ person is,” the boy told her, “but that’s Ricardo Allen. You should know who he is.”

The football player with his face on billboards and busses asked her out for ice cream the next day. And “that was it,” Grace said. “We spent every day together after that.”

That fi rst date has since led to nine years as a couple, fi ve years of marriage and three children: son Luca, 4, daughter Lennon, 2, and newborn daughter Luna.

Along the way, the Allen family has balanced Ricardo’s seven-year career with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons, Grace’s blossoming online presence — she has more than 33,000 Instagram followers thanks in large part to her blog — and, most recently, a new, family-focused podcast featuring both Ricardo and Grace called “All in with the Allens.”

All of that — on top of mom and dad duties to Luca, Lennon and Luna — makes for a jam-packed calendar in the Allen household.

“It’s a grind, to say the least, but it’s cool,” said Ricardo. “It builds you up. You’ve got to learn to be in the present moment, and where you’re at right now is what’s most important.”

A Place To Call Home With so much going on — not the least of which being an NFL season that started in September — the Allens don’t often have time to unwind. But they’ve found the perfect place to do it.

A native of Chicago, Grace vacationed along the Emerald Coast as a child. While searching for a familyfriendly vacation spot within driving distance of Atlanta, she had the idea to go back. The Allens arrived at WaterSound Beach Club expecting a relaxing week by the water before Ricardo reported to training camp with the Falcons. It didn’t take long to realize that they had found so much more. “We hadn’t even been there 24 hours,” Grace said, “and we were like, ‘This is a great place.’ ” So great that, a day after arriving at the WaterSound Beach community, Ricardo was browsing real estate listings and making calls to agents. Just a day after that, Ricardo and Grace Allen

NFL star Rico Allen and wife Grace say they have found the perfect home for them and their growing family, including son Luca (4) and daughters Lennon (3) and Luna (now 5 months).

found themselves under contract for what they called a “magical” home by the beach.

How’s that for an eventful vacation?

“It was really crazy,” Grace said with a smile.

The Allens quickly found a lot to love about the WaterSound Beach community. The white picket fences, the architecture of the homes, the tennis courts — and the golf courses that Ricardo says he’s saving for his post-football life.

“You can really picture an enchanting time with your family in that neighborhood and at the beach club,” Grace said.

When the Allens close their eyes and dream of their home in WaterSound, their thoughts immediately drift to the beaches.

“For us, it’s just taking the kids to the beach and letting them have those days to build sandcastles and play,” Grace said. “There’s nothing like it. The beach is undefeated when it comes to entertaining children.”

As much as Grace and Ricardo cherish their beachside adventures with Luca, Lennon and Luna, they’re also thrilled to know that their home in the WaterSound Beach community will be a part of their family’s story for generations to come.

“To give our children those memories of growing up there together is going to be something that’s so special,” Grace said.

“There’s something about being out there,” Ricardo added, “just sitting at the ocean and feeling like you’re free from the world for that bit of time that you have. It’s a beautiful place.”

Paying It Forward For all that Ricardo has done on the football field, it was a recent recognition away from the gridiron that moved him most. This past December, Ricardo and Grace went to the Falcons’ Community Honors Dinner expecting nothing more than an evening among friends and teammates. The Falcons, though, had a surprise in store.

Grace Allen said her husband leads by example when he gives back to the community, which provides a positive role model for their children.

After recognizing several members of the franchise for their charitable efforts and service in the community, the Falcons bestowed their biggest honor on Ricardo, naming him their nominee for the 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year award. The award honors those players with a passion for service and charity work.

“It was just a blessing,” said Ricardo, who has donated more than $45,000 to the Atlanta Falcons Social Justice Committee and who holds a free football camp each summer in his hometown of Daytona Beach, Fla. “It was a big surprise. It was something that I never thought I could get, to tell you the truth.

“To be the Man of the Year for the Falcons, it was one of the coolest awards that I’ve ever gotten. Because that’s not just about being a football player. That’s about making a change in the world.”

Ricardo knows the value of a helping hand.

One of four children in a home with a single mother, he grew up in what he calls a “rough” neighborhood. But rather than look back on his childhood with sadness or resentment, Ricardo instead has fond memories of his neighborhood community. And he can’t help but smile when he thinks of how each neighboring family rallied around each other.

“My family, we don’t come from very much,” Ricardo said. “When I was growing up, neighbors always came together. If one family had some chicken, the next family had some rice, the next family had some potatoes — we’d come together and make a dinner so all of us could eat.

“It would be three or four families surviving together. Sometimes we didn’t have it, and other families would come help us. And they never looked down on us.”

All the while, Ricardo dreamed of a career in pro football — and the opportunities he would have to pay forward the good he had received as a child. “I said to myself, once I got the opportunity and once I got put in this position to help other people, I made sure I kept that true,” he said.

That might be an understatement.

“He represents ‘team’ to the highest level,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said in a news conference last year. “And so, (recently), we were in our team meeting. And I asked the team, if you’ve been mentored, supported or encouraged by Ricardo Allen, please stand up.

“And the entire room stands up.”

“It’s just really cool for our kids,” Grace said. “It’s going to be cool for them to know that their dad played in the NFL. But I think it’s going to be even better for them to realize that their dad was a great person in the midst of it all, too.”

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