Acadie-Bathurst Titan superfan 'devastated' by team's move out of province

Fred Best has likely been to more Acadie-Bathurst Titan games than any other fan. He's been a season-ticket holder since the team moved to the area in 1998.

The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League team has announced it will move to Newfoundland after this season, but Best plans to go to Titan games until the very end.

"I went to, I'm sure, 99 per cent of the games since Day 1," he said. "If I ever missed a game, it's because of maybe a cold or extreme weather conditions."

Best said he didn't want to believe the rumours that the team planned to leave. That became a reality this week.

"When I found out it was actually official, you know, I was devastated." he said. "And I wasn't completely surprised to hear that because of the lack of support that we were getting."

Declining support 

Best says more than 2,000 fans attended home games in the early years, but those numbers have declined.

"We only had roughly maybe 1,200 season-ticket holders," he said. "If you include the walk-ins, we were only getting 1,300 fans, and they couldn't survive on that."

He chalks up the decline to many industries leaving the region.

Now, Best fears that the team's departure will mean even more amenities will leave Bathurst and surrounding areas.

"We only have the federal building and the hospital, other than that, you don't have too much," he said.

Biggest superfan in Canada

While Best hopes to follow the team online once they move to St. John's, he says it won't be the same without the in-person attendance at the K.C. Irving Centre.

"We're gonna lose the people and friends that we met throughout the years, the season-ticket holders," he said. "Really, that's the sad part, losing the contact with friends."

Best is well-known around the arena and the local community for his spirit, donning a golden Viking hat at each game. He used to dance in his younger years to fire up the crowd.

In 2022, Best even got a seating area in the arena named after him.

He was named Mastercard's Most Priceless Fan in Canada in 2022. As part of the prize, he got to go to Toronto to meet Bobby Orr.

"Those things I will cherish in my memories forever," said Best.

Hopeful for the future

While the team is moving on from Bathurst, Best says he's not moving on from the team. He said he'll support them in their new location.

"I'll always support the Titans," he said.

Best thinks there won't be another QMJHL team in Bathurst, but he hopes another league, perhaps the Maritime junior A circuit, will take an interest in the region.

"Whatever team comes here, I'm willing to support," he said.