Featured super fan! Navi Bhatia's story, a certified super fan born in Canada, a country of immigrants｜Feature Toronto Raptors

　There is a man who is always watching the Raptors' games from the front row. The man in the turban you may have seen on TV is Navi Bhatia. Bhatia, 67, never misses a Toronto Raptors game. He is now known as a "superfan" and is becoming famous not only among Raptors fans, but throughout Canada.

Why does Mr. Bhatia attend games so enthusiastically and continue to support the Raptors for so many years? It had a lot to do with the experience he had when he moved to Canada. In order to explore the deep relationship between Mr. Batia and the Raptors, this time we will approach Mr. Batia's story.

All games he watched without being late or leaving midway

　His history with the Raptors goes back to 1995, 24 years before the team was founded. Yes, Mr. Bhatia has been watching the team since the Raptors were born. And he's nicknamed "Superfan" for good reason. Since the team was founded, it has been watched at the venue without missing a single home game, which has been 836 until now (as of June 7, 2019). What's more, I'm surprised that he's never been late or even left halfway through.

In fact, he talked about an episode in an NBA interview when he was almost late for a game one day. He said he once tried to cross a heavy traffic jam in time for a Raptors game. At that time, Mr. Bhatia was found by the police. However, the police officer who saw Mr. Bhatia advised, ``Isn't it famous Raptors superfan Navi Bhatia! It is said that he was allowed to go to the game without him. The police must take their hats off for the passion they have watched over 800 matches.

Bitter experience as an immigrant

What is the reason why Mr. Bhatia is so enthusiastic about the Raptors? Bhatia immigrated to Canada from India in 1984. Bhatia herself is one of the majority of immigrants in Toronto. Born and raised in Delhi, India, Bhatia moved to the United States to study mechanical engineering at university. After running theaters and restaurants there, he returned to India to work in the family business. However, what I witnessed there was a strike against Bhatia's religion, Sikhism. Fearing for her life, Bhatia fled India with her family and went to Canada.

Of course, finding a job in Canada was not easy. He said, "No one accepted me as a hairy, turbaned person." After a while, I found a place to work at a dealership for Hyundai, a Korean automaker. It was a job that had nothing to do with what I had studied at university. Furthermore, even when he finally found a workplace, he was discriminated against by other clerks. On the other hand, Mr. Bhatia seems to have succeeded in selling a whopping 127 cars in the first three months, as if to show off his power to the other salespeople. Bhatia said the record has not yet been broken.

To change the image of his own community

　In 1995, the Toronto Raptors were born. Bhatia bought two tickets to see their first match. At first, it was just out of curiosity. From there, Bhatia fell in love with the Raptors. He boasted that he watched all the games and cheered loudly on the court. His passion was passed on to the Raptors, and in 1998 he was presented with an original uniform with the words "Superfan" written on it. It is said that Bhatia became the "face" of the Raptors.

　There is a "dream" that Mr. Bhatia repeatedly talks about to each media. That is, "to change the image of a Sikh person that many people have." This dream has been with him ever since he moved to Canada. Of course, when he first started working at a dealership, there were many other episodes of discrimination.

　One day, when he went to buy a mobile phone, a white clerk saw Mr. Bhatia entering the store and said to the person who was on the phone. "I'll hang up the phone because the taxi has come to pick me up." Upon hearing this, Bhatia didn't get angry at the white clerk. He said he was angry with the religious community.

With this incident as a trigger, Mr. Bhatia decided to do his best to "change the image of Sikh people". His willpower soon turned into action. Bhatia has done a lot of things that have never been done before, such as ceremonies celebrating the Hindu New Year, ceremonies celebrating Diwali and Sikh New Years, and proposing a Raptors game during Baisakhi.

　Furthermore, they are making a great contribution to communities belonging to various religions in Toronto, such as purchasing a whopping 3,000 tickets for underprivileged children at these games. As a result of these efforts, "Thousands of people in South Asia now turn into arenas to watch Raptors games," he said in his TED talk. Comment on. This activity was greatly appreciated, and in 2013 he was officially given the title of "Raptors' South Asia Ambassador".

"Changing the World" with Basketball

When Mr. Batia first came to Canada, he was bullied by his colleagues who worked at a dealer. He is now the owner of both the Mississauga dealership, which is now Hyundai's largest in Canada, and the Rexdale dealership. Mr. Bhatia who has succeeded in his work like this. However, even now that he is in a privileged environment, his strong will has not changed. Besides giving tickets to underprivileged children, one of Bhatia's main goals is to "change the world" through basketball, which is an important part of her life.

Bhatia said, "Basketball has the power to bring people together." Regardless of race, gender, or religion, cheering for one team will bring joy and sorrow to the whole of Toronto. In fact, the Raptors were rated as the most racially diverse team in the NBA. "I would like to thank the Raptors for providing such a place," said Bhatia, once again emphasizing the importance of the Raptors' presence in Toronto.

And when the Raptors finally became the first Eastern Conference Champions and advanced to the NBA Finals, CBC reporter Muhammad Lila made a special feature on Twitter. Taking this opportunity, Bhatia's name recognition also rose at once.

Does not react with anger to discriminatory remarks

　However, it is not uncommon for him to be criticized. It is also new to remember that a discriminatory tweet was posted by a fan of the Milwaukee Bucks who played just before advancing to the final. However, Bhatia did not respond with anger, saying, "We are all human and we all make mistakes. , he realized he was wrong.And he called me himself and said he wanted to apologize.What he did was very courageous.He was a very courageous man. That's why it's important for us to move forward without dragging it down," he commented in an interview with CBC.

He believes that "basketball brings people together"

　His words and actions, such as inviting a number of immigrant children to NBA games, are exactly what "basketball is". It speaks to his conviction to bring people together. The Toronto Raptors won their first championship in 2019. Mr. Bhatia will not stop supporting you in the future. I hope that he will continue to liven up the multi-ethnic city of Toronto and Canadian basketball as a citizen and representative of immigrants. Photo: Facebook: Nav Bhatia Superfan Page