Nav Bhatia: This Raptors 'Superfan' Is A Superman

Superfan Nav Bhatia’s passion for basketball has led him to pursue his lifelong goal of improving the lives of children all over the world. City Life had the pleasure of speaking to Bhatia about his life, journey and quest to change the world

- Rick Muller

In their 23-year history, there have been three constants to watching a Toronto Raptors home game: a frenzied, sellout crowd chanting “We the North”; a Raptor driving the lane toward a monster jam or arching an elegant “all-net” threepointer; and one notable man jumping up from his baseline seat at the Air Canada Centre every time the Raptors make a basket.

That’s every Raptors basket made at home. Ever.

Since they started playing in 1995, this same fan has been at every home game to cheer them on, wearing his Raptors jersey and distinctive colourcoordinated turban. His name is Nav Bhatia, and he is universally recognized as the Raptors’ designated “Superfan.” Just how many times has he jumped out of his seat over the years?

Let’s have some fun with math to work this out. The Raptors have played approximately 925 home games in their existence. Bhatia has a perfect attendance record, having never missed a home game in those 23-plus years. (Nor has he ever been late or left a game early, win or lose; his self-imposed rule is to stay in the arena until the refs have headed back in the tunnel.) Bhatia estimates he’s attended over a hundred road games; therefore, he guesses, he has probably seen them live 1,000 times.

If we assume the Raptors have averaged about 85 points per game over that span, then they’ve scored approximately 85,000 points in all the games Bhatia has attended. That means Bhatia has jumped up out of his seat to cheer them on more than 40,000 times (allowing for three-pointers). That’s a lot of jumping … and that’s not counting the number of times he stands to heckle the refs, taunt opponents or cheer during time outs. To say Bhatia is energetic during games is one of the greatest understatements of all time.