We already knew that Heated Rivalry, the smutty Canadian romance about two rival hockey stars who fall in love and have to grapple with being closeted pro athletes, has become a sensation, particularly among thirsty straight women. (My Instagram Search & Explore page is currently serving me a truly embarrassing amount of gay hockey player content.) Last week’s episode, “I’ll Believe in Anything,” took the obsession to new heights; its IMDB score tied Breaking Bad‘s “Ozymandias,” meaning it now stands alongside the pinnacle of prestige drama as one of the top-rated TV episodes of all time. But one of the most refreshing things about all the fervor is that it’s not just coming from the demographics you’d expect — straight male hockey fans are embracing the series, too.
After the latest episode — which, spoiler alert, ended with New York Admirals captain Scott Hunter bringing his boyfriend onto the ice and kissing him after winning the Stanley Cup while our two protagonists watched on TV, dumbfounded — aired, ESPN’s senior NHL writer Greg Wyshynski tweeted, “Going to spend the weekend meditating on how the hockey media would have handled Scott Hunter’s post-Cup celebration if we were all on the ice when it happened,” adding “This show was already insanely watchable and now it’s emotionally pummeling, too.” Meanwhile, women posted videos to social media of their husbands reacting to the episode’s final scenes with glee.
Why Your Girlfriend Is Obsessed With This New Gay Hockey Show
“Heated Rivalry” has consumed the lives of every woman on the internet. Experts share what you could learn from it.The best example of this unexpected fandom comes from the NHL podcast Empty Netters, hosted by brothers Dan and Chris Powers. The former hockey players have been reviewing each episode of the show, and the way they’re going about it might just restore your faith in humanity. It sure did for me.
It’s not just that they love the show — they legitimately geek out over it, frequently tossing around words like “hot” and “adorable” when discussing the sex scenes and romantic moments. They’re secure enough in their own masculinity that they have no problem selecting a “horniest moment” from each episode, and perhaps most importantly, they’re unafraid to admit their own ignorance and ask their viewers questions about the queer experience, encouraging them to chime in in the comments section. (Such questions have ranged from wondering whether gay men feel obligated to flat-out divulge that they’re gay when trying to flirt with another man to whether or not they can do missionary. After Chris asked in their episode 2 recap if gay men are always strictly a top or a bottom, he reported during their next episode that he’d been told some men are “vers” — that is, comfortable with both roles — and proudly used the term when discussing a particular sex scene.)
They not only clocked how often Ilya Rozanov — whom they affectionately refer to as “Rosie” — asks for consent during the show’s many sex scenes, they celebrate that fact, dubbing him a “consent king.” They talk about wanting to incorporate some of Scott Hunter’s moves in episode 3 into their own (hetero) sex lives. Their review of the most recent episode was glowing. Chris kicked off the podcast by declaring, “I cannot believe I thought I enjoyed television before I saw this episode.”
What’s most striking, however, is the empathy they clearly have for the show’s gay characters. At one point in their episode 5 recap, Dan actually gets choked up recalling a scene where Shane Hollander refers to a sexual encounter he had with Rozanov as “nice,” referring to the moment as “so fucking innocent and beautiful and such a first step” for the show’s closeted protagonist. When discussing a separate scene where we see Rozanov break down over his father’s illness, Chris says, “If Rosie’s crying, I’m crying, dude.” During Scott’s big coming-out moment at the end, Dan points out, “We get one shot of the crowd, and they’re going fucking nuts. That pumped me up so much.”
It speaks to the world that we live in that we feel compelled to praise straight men for not being actively terrible about a show like this, but at the same time, maybe the fact that they’re embracing the show so openly without any stigma or fear of how it’ll reflect on them speaks to the progress that’s been made. It begs the question: if an NHL player were to actually come out as gay in real life, would it still even be a big deal, or would they be met with more compassion and acceptance than we give stereotypical hockey fans credit for?
Regardless, the Powers brothers have found a new audience through their Heated Rivalry recaps, if their comments section is any indicator. “I can’t believe I’m watching a sport podcast and it’s healing something inside me… what is life,” one user wrote. “You don’t know how healing it is to have straight guys like yourselves talk so openly and positively about gay stuff. Not just the sex but just the interactions between men like it’s normal. thank you,” wrote another. “Boys, gay hockey fan here. LOVING these recaps SO MUCH,” reads a particularly heartwarming comment. “It does my heart good to see you guys loving this show as much as I do. I absolutely love your takes and your perspectives. New Empty Netters homie for life! Love ya!”
It’s an extremely unexpected but thoroughly reassuring turn of events: straight hockey bros and gay romance novel fans bonding over their shared love of a love story that too often gets dismissed as “smut.” As the conclusion of episode 5 — which ends with Ilya, emboldened by seeing Scott Hunter come out, calling Shane and accepting his invitation to spend the offseason with him at his cottage — reminds us, representation matters, and there are no doubt young gay athletes watching the way Empty Netters champions Heated Rivalry who now feel a little more comfortable coming out to their teammates. But perhaps equally importantly, there may also be straight kids watching who will feel more confident being an ally and standing up to homophobia thanks to the non-toxic masculinity exhibited by guys like the Powers brothers — and that’s just as exciting and deserving of praise as episode 5’s stunning finale.
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