ktvu's ken prichard is live in san jose where fans have something finally to cheer about, ken. >> reporter: well, i talked to a couple of the sharks players who praise fans and say they often see those fans coming out even for practice, especially the first practice of the year. but those players said that after such a long lockout, coming out today for practice before those fans felt different. >> let's go sharks! >> reporter: if we only gave you a close-up view of the crowd -- [ cheers & applause ] >> reporter: you could mistake this for game time enthusiasm. >> we're happy the guys are back on the ice. [ cheers & applause ] >> reporter: this is practice, but even still, as the sharks took the ice, the fans were cheering. >> i swore i wouldn't come back, but i love the game so much, here i am. >> glad they finally solved the problem and we're getting hockey. >> reporter: the problem was a lockout that began in september. it ended today that gives the players an abbreviated 48-game season. >> we're all waiting for this day. we thought it would happen earlier. it didn't. we got here now. w