Denver Native (Carol)
12-25-2016, 01:18 PM
Amid a fully covered upper body of artwork, a large bold series of numbers on Shane Ray‘s right forearm screams the loudest. Each tattoo has a special meaning, Ray said, but 5600 best encapsulates who he is and where he’s going.
It represents the block he grew up on off 56th Street and College Avenue in the heart of Kansas City, Mo.’s 64130 ZIP code, an area known as the “Murder Factory.” That is Ray’s hood. He’s proud of it. It led to him wear No. 56.
There aren’t many success stories that come out of that area. Ray beat the odds, though anger and mischief defined his childhood.
“It’s what made me,” Ray said of his old neighborhood. “I wouldn’t be me without it. But I had to get out of there. I really don’t know what I would be doing if it wasn’t for football. It saved me.”
In his second season with the Broncos, his teammates and coaches say the outside linebacker’s biggest area of growth has been his maturity. He is emerging as the talented pass rushing complement to Von Miller that the Broncos envisioned when they drafted the former Missouri star in the first round in 2015. Now, he is seeking respect.
Sunday, he returns home to show the locals how far he has come as a player and a person. He was born in Kansas City, but he is being molded in Denver. He will spend the weekend home with plans to visit family, friends and others who helped get him out of the Murder Factory.
rest - much more - http://www.denverpost.com/2016/12/24/shane-ray-mature-seeking-elite-status-returns-home/
It represents the block he grew up on off 56th Street and College Avenue in the heart of Kansas City, Mo.’s 64130 ZIP code, an area known as the “Murder Factory.” That is Ray’s hood. He’s proud of it. It led to him wear No. 56.
There aren’t many success stories that come out of that area. Ray beat the odds, though anger and mischief defined his childhood.
“It’s what made me,” Ray said of his old neighborhood. “I wouldn’t be me without it. But I had to get out of there. I really don’t know what I would be doing if it wasn’t for football. It saved me.”
In his second season with the Broncos, his teammates and coaches say the outside linebacker’s biggest area of growth has been his maturity. He is emerging as the talented pass rushing complement to Von Miller that the Broncos envisioned when they drafted the former Missouri star in the first round in 2015. Now, he is seeking respect.
Sunday, he returns home to show the locals how far he has come as a player and a person. He was born in Kansas City, but he is being molded in Denver. He will spend the weekend home with plans to visit family, friends and others who helped get him out of the Murder Factory.
rest - much more - http://www.denverpost.com/2016/12/24/shane-ray-mature-seeking-elite-status-returns-home/