Patrick Marleau walked to the stage as the fans chanted his name and began tearing up.
The emotions carried through the entire ceremony until his No. 12 jersey was raised to the rafters Saturday night as the first to be retired in San Jose Sharks history.
“It was surreal,” Marleau said after the ceremony. “It just flashes before your eyes that everything I did led up to that moment. I was just so appreciative that it went so well, that I had the career that I had, that I had the support I had. It just all flashed before me. All that hard work finally paid off.”