Sherbrooke’s loss was Lewiston’s gain; now Lewiston’s loss is Boisbrand’s gain. That’s the way it seems to go in the Quebec Major-Junior Hockey League. But rationale from Maineiacs owner Mark Just for the team’s imminent relocation doesn’t sound like the full story.

On Jan. 31, Just said the team’s inability to average 3,000 fans caused deficits he couldn’t keep subsidizing. Despite a peak of 2,000 season-ticket holders and sponsors and group sales exceeding “budgeted expectations,” Just said the “casual fan base” never materialized.

The team’s home, the Androscoggin Bank Colisee, holds about 3,700, which means Just needed about 80 percent capacity to fit his business model. With 55 percent in season tickets and strong sponsor and group support, that should have been achievable.

And, frankly, this is the normal landscape of professional sports. There are core fans who will watch and support the team at every turn, and a larger “casual” base that becomes motivated during intense periods – like the competition of a championship run.

This is no different here, as when attendance peaked during the Memorial Cup campaign of 2006-2007. Though the Maineiacs failed to reach the magic 3,000 figure – peaking at 2,700 – the formula was apparent: To motivate “casual” fans, the team’s success mattered.

Right now, it is not successful. The team was described in some press reports beyond Maine as “bottom-feeders” in the QMJHL, which, combined with a struggling economy, made Maineiacs tickets and paraphernalia (like so many other things) luxury items.

For Just to say, amid an awful season and worsening economy, that a chronic dearth of casual fans means the team must go, despite community support (group sales, sponsors and public investment) greater than anticipated and solid season ticket sales, is unjust.

It could be argued the blame is not on fans for failing to appear, but on the team for failing to draw them. Professional sports is a business, and it’s the rare business that, when it fails to meet its own expectations, puts the blame entirely on irregular customers.

At least blame should be shared. And the allure of the new, 3,500-seat “Centre d’Excellence sur Glace” in Boisbrand should also be acknowledged for the draw it was. As more details of the move become known, it becomes clear more factors than fan support were at work here.

Which is the mad reality of professional sports – that it is a business with owners who are prone to making hard business decisions based on dollars, not emotions. It is his team. Just is just in taking it to perceived greener pastures, if he wants.

But don’t say the fans are the only reason why.