Steven Means has an amazing trophy collection.
The Buffalo native won a Super Bowl ring with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was the Atlanta Falcons’ nominee for the 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award for community service, and he received the team’s Ed Block Courage Award after returning from a torn Achilles tendon.
But through all the accolades and achievements and meaningful personal experiences – from youth football with the Fruit Belt Rockets to four years on varsity at Grover Cleveland High School to starring alongside Khalil Mack at the University at Buffalo to his nine-year career in the NFL – Means has been waiting his entire life for Sunday.
The Falcons’ starting linebacker will finally play against the Bills in Orchard Park.
“Definitely, it’s always been something I’ve been thinking about,” Means said Thursday during an interview with The Buffalo News. “And now, this game, I’ll be able to show them what they could have got if they would have picked me up.”
Means, 31, was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft, with the 147th overall pick. He played 11 defensive snaps and six special teams snaps against the Bills during his rookie season, but he recorded no stats in the Bucs’ 27-6 victory on Dec. 8, 2013, in Tampa.
Means has since spent time with Baltimore, Houston and Philadelphia, where he was inactive for the Eagles’ 23-20 victory against the Bills on Dec. 13, 2015. He found a home and regular playing time since signing with Atlanta in 2018.
Means spoke with The News about the personal importance of this weekend’s game, why he hates the Bills but loves Bills Mafia, his favorite places to visit when he returns home, why he prefers ranch over blue cheese (!), doing charity work without seeking recognition and the trophies he prizes most.
The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Buffalo News: You’ve never played against the Bills in Orchard Park. What’s this experience going to be like for you and your family?
Steven Means: "Me and my mom were diehard Bills fans. It’s going to be a whirlwind of emotions. I think it’s always different when you go back home and you play at a stadium that you dreamed of playing in growing up, one that I was able to see as a kid. I went to the stadium a couple of times. And another thing that’s been on my mind since I’ve been in the league is that I’ve always had a different mindset when playing the Bills or when I saw the Bills on the schedule, because I always felt a way about not winding up in Buffalo in the draft."
BN: You expected to be drafted by the Bills?
SM: “I say that because I grew up in the heart, in the inner city of Buffalo, New York. I played little league football in the old Bills stadium at Johnnie B. Wiley (field on the site of War Memorial Stadium). I went to a Buffalo public school growing up, elementary and high school. I went to the University at Buffalo. When it was too cold to practice outside, we went to the Bills’ stadium. I had my pro day at the Bills’ stadium. Came to work out at the Bills’ stadium. Made a name for myself at that pro day. And growing up a diehard Bills fan and to not wind up there and let rounds and rounds and rounds pass by – it’s another little chip on my shoulder.”
BN: Did you root for the Bills in last season’s AFC championship game?
SM: “I’m torn because I hate the organization. I hate the Bills now. I hate them. But I’m always happy for the city, if that makes sense. I’m a ’90s baby, so you know everything that happened in the ’90s, all of the turmoil and the drought, those years with blackout games, when we couldn’t see the games on TV because there weren’t enough people in the stands. I was raised through all of that. The Music City Miracle. All of that stuff. So to see them win, and to see them in the AFC championship last year, I was extremely happy for the city.
“I was in Buffalo last year when they were making that run, and just to see the city light up put a smile on my face. It’s cold outside and nobody cared. They’ve got tables set up, chairs set up, everybody’s watching the game on a big screen outside. It’s an amazing atmosphere. They’ve always had diehard fans. Bills Mafia is true. It’s a real thing.”
BN: What do you think about the scenes at the airport – win or lose – after big road games?
SM: (Laughing.) “Man, it’s definitely different. I experienced some real crazy fans in Philly, and as a player there you just love it. I think the Bills might be No. 1 when it comes to how crazy the fans get, how loud they get, and so I can only imagine if they were to really make a run and go win it all.”
BN: With the updated Covid protocols, you’re stuck in the hotel when you get here. But where would you go if you could?
SM: “Duffs! Let me just say that right off the bat. If I can’t leave the hotel, I’m hoping I can get a delivery of Duffs. Duffs chicken wings, man. I’ve got to wait till I come back for the offseason so I can really go get some of the Buffalo food from Shy’s, Louie’s, Raymondo’s, La Nova. I’m mad Leonardi’s closed. But Jim’s Steak Out. There’s a lot of places that put a big smile on my face when I go back home.”
BN: Always blue cheese, right?
SM: “No. I’m a ranch guy.”
BN: You’re a ranch guy from Buffalo?
SM: “I’m a ranch guy. I love blue cheese, too. But I’m just a ranch guy, naturally. You can put ranch on anything. Pizza, whatever. … You’ve got to put it on cereal. You ever try it on cereal?”
BN: I have not. No.
SM: (Laughing.) “I’m just playing. Don’t do that. I’m just messing around.”
BN: I’m told you gave out more than 300 turkeys for Thanksgiving at your elementary and high schools, and there was no mention of it in the local media. Do you not hire marketing or PR professionals or have your agent get the word out? Why not?
SM: “I’m always leery about it. Even when I went back home to give out money and scholarships to the kids that graduated from my elementary school and my high school, (a teacher) kept trying to blow it up and bring the media to it. And I was just totally against it. It always just struck me as a little strange for you to do something like that and to have cameras. Say you’ve got kids who are really shy or really want to talk to you or say something to you. They might not really come up to you and try to ask you those questions if they’ve got 10 cameras in their face.
“I always like to just touch kids in a real normal, genuine way, so that’s always my take on it. And I’m a spiritual guy. I’m a man of faith. And the Bible talks about that. When you do good deeds, if you go around blowing trumpets and seeking applause from other people, that’ll be your reward. It’ll be other people seeing it and saying, ‘Congratulations’ and ‘Good job.’ But if you just do those things without trying to expose it, you gather those gifts in heaven. I just always thought about those things. And I always try to follow my gut. It feels weird.”
BN: You have a Super Bowl ring, were the Falcons’ 2020 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee and also received your team’s Ed Block Courage Award. Which means the most?
SM: “I would say the Walter Payton award is the first, and the Ed Block Courage Award is the second, because you grow up and you hear your dad talk about the legends, and Walter Payton was one of those guys. And then you take a deeper dive into him and all the great things he did in the community … it just brings a smile to your face and tears to your eyes faster than you could think.
“The Ed Block Courage Award, the scariest injury to me was the Achilles, because I know that one is the longest to recover from, so to fight back from that and come back and be impactful, not just on the field but enough for my teammates to vote me in for that award, that shows relentlessness through adversity and resiliency. That one holds a strong place in my heart. They’re both hanging up on the top shelf in my trophy room.”
