I didn’t expect a “hockey” show to emotionally derail me, but it has, and I’m not upset about it at all. At first watch, yeah, it may just seem like gay pornography, but at the end of the day, it’s so much more than that.
“Heated Rivalry” is based on Rachel Reid’s book series, “Game Changers.” The story follows two hockey rivals, both at the top of their game: Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander. They’re both closeted but begin a sexual relationship and eventually fall in love.
Throughout the show, I found myself comparing Rozanov and Hollander’s relationship to my own relationships. Well, it’s genuinely hard to compare because I am a straight woman, but then I noticed something I’d never noticed: Rozanov and Hollander are on an even playing field.
This was hard for me to articulate while watching. I felt envy and I wasn’t sure why at first, but then it hit me.
They’re two men in the same hockey league, with the same social status and same physicality. There are no obvious power dynamics or underlying expectations, like those present but never said in heterosexual relationships.
I wanted to be them. Every relationship I’ve ever been in, I’ve always felt like I had to morph myself into someone that wouldn’t get left behind. I was always putting on a performance.
Also, although their relationship began as something just sexual, the yearning shown is almost never objectifying. In hetero romances, a woman’s desire always comes down to being looked at, consumed and assessed. It always feels like women must put on a show.
But in “Heated Rivalry,” Rozanov and Hollander desire each other in the same way. They both want and ache for each other in a way that isn’t performative, where no one in the relationship is the object and no one is the spectator.
They are both allowed to be strong and vulnerable at the same time, and their masculinity is never seen as threatening. It was eye-opening to see such healthy masculinity portrayed. I mean, these are two guys are both the epiphany of a masculine man but neither show any intimidating part of that.
These are professional athletes, constantly surrounded by men who verbally attack each other with slurs and profanities. Rozanov and Hollander are the definition of what hockey players would throw around as insults, yet they managed to stay true to themselves and one another.
It felt like a safe space, witnessing healthy masculine men nurture each other, get past hurdles together and recognize the others’ emotions. Never once seeing them try and put on a show for the other.
The third episode was a crucial moment for Rozanov and Hollander’s future. This episode featured two different characters: Scott Hunter and Kip Grady. Hunter is the captain of the New York Admirals hockey team, while Grady works at a smoothie shop.
The two begin a relationship, despite Hunter being closeted. We’re only shown a glimpse of their on-screen relationship, but the defining point in the show was when the New York Admirals won the Stanley Cup and Hunter called Grady down to the rink. Hunter comes out to the whole world by kissing Grady passionately on the ice.
As Rozanov and Hollander watch, this changes everything for them. Hunter made them feel like it wasn’t an impossible feat to be with each other.
Later on, episode six picks up with Hunter winning the Most Valuable Award at the MLH ceremony. He acknowledges his sexuality, the importance of publicly coming out and finding the love of his life, who changed everything.
In the same episode, we are brought back to Rozanov and Hollander, where Hollander picked Rozanov up at the airport to spend two weeks together. It was a beautiful episode where we got to see who they truly are together and how they treat one another.
The season ends with Hollander coming out to his parents and Rozanov telling them that they are boyfriends. They no longer have to hide their love. They can be free.
This show has also inspired real-life hockey players to come out. Ice hockey player Jesse Kortuem, who has competed in several adult leagues but never professional hockey, shared on social media how the show encouraged him to come out as gay.
“On the outside, I was still a top-tier player. On the inside, I was still that kid in Minnesota hiding,” Korteum wrote in a Facebook post. “Like many closeted athletes, revealing who I truly was to my team would change everything in an instant, their opinion of me, could bring negative attention to the team with the ‘gay player,’ so I never took the chance.”
I believe anyone who has watched this show has been somehow altered by it. It is truly inspiring to know that a show about a couple of hockey players in love has changed people’s lives.
