Moments after entering the main concourse at Xcel Energy Center Saturday night, Minnesota Hockey Legend Lou Nanne was feeling the love.

“If you want to give up the media stuff, come be a vendor, Louie!” shouted a food vendor.  

“See you later,” Nanne smiled as he strolled by.

Nearby, Charlyn McDanold from Woodbury was beaming.

“You don’t get to see someone that famous every day, right?” she said. “And you’re at a high school tournament, the place to be right now.”

Nanne has been receiving the rock star treatment after announcing 60 years of tournaments for the Stanley Cup, the Olympics and Minnesota Boys State Hockey.   

“I’m excited about the game, I’m excited about being done,” Nanne says. “I marvel about how fast 60 years went by.”

Oh, that ‘done’ part?

A little bittersweet.

Saturday night’s High School Boys Championship Game between Chanhassen and Edina was Nanne’s final broadcast.

The MSHSL honored him just before the game.

Sandy Thompson, from St. Paul, was among those who rushed over to say hello.

“We love you, we love your family,” giving Nanne a hug. “You’re awesome, you’re going to be missed here.”

“Getting involved in something you love, the passion, you love,” he told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS. “Gets that way because of the enthusiasm and the kids work so hard, that shows how they enjoy it.”

A long history on the ice: player, TV commentator and that voice on the radio.    

“He’s one of the voices of my childhood, really,” exclaimed Andrew Raboin from Stillwater. “If there was a Mount Rushmore of hockey greats from the state, and there’s a lot of them, he would be right up there, right on top.”

Jim Erickson, Nanne’s color commentator since 2015, remembered being a bit nervous the first time he worked with a broadcaster he remembered hearing as a kid.

“I’m ready to work, but it’s always an honor to work with Lou,” he says. “The thing that always strikes me about Lou, is how much he knows about the game, and how he’s able to analyze the game and take what’s going on out on the ice and describe it, make it easy for the listeners.”

Nanne says his favorite memories are doing color commentary when his son Marty was playing in the 1984 state tournament — then, decades later, when his two grandsons were in tournament games.

For this beloved broadcaster, and those who grew up listening and watching, it’s been a great ride.

All while staying true to his Minnesota hockey roots.  

“Thank you for all of the support and making it so much fun for me,” Nanne says. “[The fans] have been special, so kind and courteous. They could never repay the joy they’ve given me.”