Neon and spandex, glitter and sequins, miscellaneous naked body parts and the deafening roar of a ready-and-waiting Pride crowd fill the air.

In the middle of it all stands a grey-haired man in a polo shirt and running shoes, thick hands folded across his broad chest, piercing brown eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses.

He turns his head, looks around, shifts from left to right.

As cheers and whistles signal the parade is about to begin, the man pulls off his blue polo shirt and slides a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey over his head. The number 88 is emblazoned on the back. The name above it: Brendan.

The jersey is noticed. A buzz zips through the crowd.

“Is that Brian?”

“Yup, that’s him.”

Last year Brian Burke watched the Pride parade with his son Brendan. This year he’s marching for him.

“I promised my son I’d march with him, and he’s not here,” Burke says. “He would have wanted us to do this.”

Brendan Burke died in a winter storm car crash in February. He was 21.

Three years ago, Brendan told his family he was gay. His father, Leafs general manager and longtime NHL tough guy, accepted his son’s sexuality immediately and unconditionally.

When news that Brendan was gay hit the media last November, the Burke family became pioneers for acceptance in a sport that has never had an openly gay athlete.

And on Sunday Burke took the ultimate step — marching with parents and friends of other gays and lesbians past more than a million cheering onlookers at Toronto’s annual Pride parade.

Before the march, Burke anticipated the event would be “personal and difficult despite its public nature.”

During the march, the usually bombastic Burke stumbled when he tried to explain what being there was like for him.

“It’s a sad day,” he said. “It’s great to see the typical city of Toronto response,” he added, referring to excited chaos and atmosphere of acceptance all around him. “But, uh, sad day.”

Burke marched with PFLAG Toronto, a support group for the families and friends of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered youth. His wife, sister and brother-in-law were by his side.

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Irene Miller, president of PFLAG Toronto, said Burke’s presence will have an impact on the young people who attend the parade.

“[He’s] someone in the sports world, someone who is perceived as a macho dad,” she says. “That is going to break down barriers, that’s going to open the door for kids all across North America to sit down and say to their dads, ‘Dad I’m gay or lesbian or bi or trans.’”

As the parade moved forward Burke walked slowly and kept close to his family. He waved to the crowd with one hand and placed his other hand on the small of his wife’s back, reaching out for her shoulder when they wandered more than a few steps apart.

A cop perched on a bicycle, rainbow flag tucked into his helmet, pointed Burke out to another officer. They waved and Burke returned the greeting.

“It’s got his son’s name on the back,” the second cop said as Burke marched on.

The parade turned a corner and Burke spotted a woman with her hair tucked into a Leafs hat. He pointed at the hat, smiled and waved to her. The woman grinned.

“You are a hero!” one young man in a bright yellow shirt declared, leaning across the crowd barrier and pointing at Burke. “You are a hero!”

Burke accepted the comment with a smile, but said later he doesn’t see it that way. For him, Brendan is the hero.

“To come out in a world dominated by macho guys, a lot of homophobia. What he did took tremendous courage,” Burke says. “There’s nothing heroic about loving your child . . . whatever path they take in life.”

“I didn’t do anything that a parent who loved their child wouldn’t do.”