San Jose Sharks paying for fan tattoos ahead of Game 3 of the conference finals

Milpitas resident Jeremy Cruz, 23, gets a free Sharks tattoo courtesy of tattoo artist Javier Gonzalez on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at Players Ink in San Jose, Calif. Milpitas resident Jeremy Cruz, 23, gets a free Sharks tattoo courtesy of tattoo artist Javier Gonzalez on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at Players Ink in San Jose, Calif. Photo: San Jose Sharks/Courtesy Photo: San Jose Sharks/Courtesy Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close San Jose Sharks paying for fan tattoos ahead of Game 3 of the conference finals 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Sharks territory officially extended to fans' arms today.

Ahead of Game 3 of the Western Conference finals in St. Louis, the San Jose brass paid for 40 tattoos for Sharks faithful this morning at local parlor Players Ink.

Fans lined up as early as 8:30 p.m. last night for the free ink, including Milpitas resident Jeremy Cruz, 23, who was the first fan into the parlor.

"I only slept for 30 minutes last night, I had one of my friends hold my place in line while I slept in my car," Cruz said. "I've been a Sharks fan since first grade and I've been waiting for so long to get a Sharks tattoo, and the Sharks said they were giving them out, so I guess there were just no excuses not to."

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Discounts were offered after the first 40 ink jobs. Cruz was one of 200-plus fans who got tattoos Wednesday , and said he's already thinking about making a return trip on Friday, when the franchise will again be covering the cost of Sharks ink.

These fans really do bleed teal.



Shoutout to the dedicated fans who showed up at Players Ink today for free #SJSharks tattoos. You are officially #SharksForLife! pic.twitter.com/EcjP5G0040 — x - San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) May 15, 2019

"I asked them whether it was against the rules to come back and get another one and they said it's first come, first served," Cruz said.

The Game 3 puck drops tonight at 5 p.m.

Grant Marek is SFGATE's Editorial Director. You can reach him by email at grant.marek@sfgate.com and follow him on Twitter.