Shannon Sharpe Once Shared a Tear-Jerking Story About His Humble Beginnings & Lovable Grandmother

Renowned NFL analyst Shannon Sharpe is also one of the best tight ends of all time. His analysis and commentaries are taken very seriously by NFL fans across the world as the former Denver Broncos player has repeatedly proven how apt he can be with his predictions.

Sharpe credits his immense success to two very important women who have been a massive part of his life, his mother and his grandmother. When the Pro Football Hall of Famer was getting inducted, he recounted an utterly sad story about his beloved grandmother.

Sharpe’s grandmother wanted the most simple thing from him

Shannon Sharpe was inducted into the HOF in 2011. During his indictment speech, he left the fans teary-eyed. He explained how modestly his grandmother, Mary Viola Porter, raised him from the age of three months.

He said, “When I was 12 years old, I told my mom I said, ‘Mom, I’m gonna have some money one day, and I’m gonna buy your Mercedes,’ and I did. When I came and I asked my grandmother, I said, ‘Granny, what do you want ?’ I say, ‘You want me to buy your car? And teach you how to drive?’ She said, ‘No son, son, I don’t want that”

“I said, ‘Granny, Do you want jewelry?’ She said, ‘No son. I don’t want that.’ She says, ‘Son, I want a decent house.’ I said, ‘granny, what is a decent home?’”

“And I remember it like yesterday, and it was 30+ years ago. She said, ‘Son, I want to go to bed one night’. And she said, ‘Oh God, make it rain, as hard as you possibly can, and I want him to let it rain all night long. And I want to wake up the next morning and not be wet.’ That’s a decent home for my grandma. That’s all she wanted.” Sharpe narrated the story.

Shannon Sharpe is an inspiration for many!

The seven-time Pro Bowler earned a lot of money in his career. However, his early life was filled with lots of hardships. The woman who took care of him and his family was his grandmother.

The four first-team All-Pro player gave the credit for his upbringing to his grandmother, who breathed her last breath on July 8, 2011, one month before his Hall of Fame induction.

It was difficult for Porter to raise Shannon and his older brother, Sterling, in poverty. They were family members of about a dozen people who lived in a 1,000-square-foot shack.

Many athletes have risen from poverty in the NFL. However, Sharpe’s story is unbelievably inspirational. That is because the legend was banished to remedial reading in high school and a developmental English program in college, but he still went back to Savannah State after his rookie season with Denver to get his college degree.

He was a wide receiver from a Division II college but achieved fame and pro football immortality as a TE. Even though he was born with a lisp, he became the league’s most prominent and popular commentator.

Additionally, his living situation as a kid was not comfortable. The house did not have proper running water, a central heating system, or air conditioning. In order to use a bathroom, they had to walk to the nearby woods.

Hence, it tells us one can become their superior version if one works hard and fights against all the evils.