Dallas Stars Retire Mike Modano’s #9 [PHOTOS] [VIDEOS]

Saturday night the Dallas Stars hosted the Minnesota Wild at American Airlines Center, and before the teams took to the ice, Dallas retired Mike Modano's #9. The Dallas Stars organization created a top-notch event which included a star-studded green carpet ceremony, video tributes and a very emotional speech of gratitude from Modano himself.

The Stars rolled out a green carpet through Victory Plaza one hour before the ceremony was scheduled begin on ice. Hundreds of fans watched as family and friends of Modano, former teammates and the Stanley Cup made their way up the carpet and into the AAC.

After walking from one end to the other, my boyfriend and I finally made it close to the carpet, where we stood behind a young boy who was attempting to get autographs and successfully secured one from Jere Lehtinen.

Not long after Lehtinen came through, an NHL official carrying the Stanley Cup slowly made his way through the crowd. The Stanley Cup has a storied history, and bears the names of the men who have won the championship each year. It's unique among other professional sports trophies, which are typically created each year for the winning team to keep in their own possession, the Stanley Cup is passed from one championship team to the next.

Excited fans reached out to the touch the cup as it passed by, and some took photos and videos of themselves reaching for it. Once inside, we found that the Stars had placed Modano 9 rally towels on the back of every seat for the fans, and they had a curtained stage set up in the center of the ice.

As the ceremony began, family and mentors of Mike Modano were introduced and seated in front of the stage where the Star's Stanley Cup team were seated awaiting the guest of honor.

Once Modano was on stage, video tributes from teammates and coaches were shown including one that told Modano's story from childhood through his final game as a Dallas Star in 2010.

Modano's speech was emotional and filled with gratitude for the people that helped him achieve great success, and the fans and city of Dallas. Following his speech, he walked out onto the ice past other Dallas Athletes including Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Young and Troy Aikman, to see his #9 banner rise to the rafters.

Before the game, current Dallas Stars, took to the ice for warm-up all clad in #9. Jerseys were worn from Modano's early years as a Minnesota North Star, before the franchise moved to Dallas, as well as jerseys from more recent years.

Throughout the game, the Dallas Stars showed video messages of congratulations from other professional athletes including, Emmitt Smith, Nolan Ryan and hockey greats Patrick Kane and Steve Yzerman.

To complete the night, the Stars came from behind in the third period to win the game 4-3. It was a special night, and one I won't soon forget.