There may be no recent show that has been as big of a sensation as “Heated Rivalry.”
The series, which streams in the United States on HBO Max and is based on the “Game Changers” book series, tells the story of a blooming romance between hockey stars Shane Hollander (played by Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (played by Connor Storrie). And just about everyone is talking about it, from Conan O’Brien to Jimmy Fallon to GBH’s Boston Public Radio.
It has received critical acclaim and a rabid following for the depiction of the relationship between Hollander and Rozanov, and struggles that gay athletes go through.
Cyd Zeigler, a cofounder of Outsports.com, put it plainly: “Let’s be clear, two smoking hot, young athletes having sex has some appeal.”
“But the other part, the B story with Scott Hunter [played by François Arnaud] and the sacrifice around love and career that gay athletes think they have to make, I think was particularly powerful,” he continued.
Now, with a second season already green lit, members of the LGBTQ+ community are looking to take advantage of the moment the show is helping to create.
A barrier that has yet to break
Part of the appeal of the show depicting a relationship between two men’s hockey players is that, in the real world, pro men’s hockey has trailed behind other sports in having openly LGBTQ+ players.
The NHL is currently the only major men’s league to have never had a former or current player come out.
Part of that may be due to the culture of the game. Kevin Corsino is with Boston Pride Hockey, a local LGBTQ+ hockey organization. He’s been playing hockey his whole life. But unfortunately, the game hasn’t always been welcoming to people like him.
“I don’t know really of any queer players that I’ve spoken to over my very long time of playing hockey that have not experienced some level of unwelcomeness, let’s call it — of homophobia, quite frankly,” he said.
To be fair, this is a problem that is particularly potent on the men’s side of the game. The PWHL, for example, has numerous out players.
Corsino said the question is if queer hockey players feel safe being visible in what can be a hypermasculine space and culture.
Zeigler also attributed the lack of out players in the NHL to what essentially boils down to a homogeneity across its pro athletes.
“Hockey’s unique in that space in that it is, the culture is very much everybody should be the same and look similar than all the rest of the sports in North America,” he said.
Turning a moment into an opportunity
When the show initially came out, Corsino said there were some mixed reactions as people wanted to see where the series was going to go.
“Because I think, you know, what you don’t want to see are series that are kind of taking advantage of a moment,” he said. “And I think what you’re seeing with ‘Heated Rivalry’ is that it is portraying very, very authentically relationships, character building. And so I think once people got through a little bit more into the series and kind of could figure out what’s actually happening in it, I think that’s when people were really buying into it and immediately felt attached to it.”
But the show did more than just pick up fans. It’s helped drive people to seek out organizations like BPH. Speaking to GBH News earlier this month, Corsino said at least 10 people had cited the show when reaching out to BPH.
“Which is crazy, because, 450 members, that sounds like a lot. But that’s established over time,” he said. “So a big jump of 10 people inquiring and then physically coming out to skate and getting on the ice with us is, like, huge. That’s a huge increase. And keep in mind that doesn’t include people who are also DMing us on social, asking about our programming, 'Hey ... I’m fairly new to the sport, could I come play? What types of programming do you have?’”
For Corsino and BPH, they don’t want to this moment to fade away like a fad once the TV turns off. They want this to be an inflection point to make room for more people in the game.
“You know, not to sound dramatic, but for many, this can be life changing,” Corsino said. “To find a space that you didn’t know existed can be life changing for so many people. Quite frankly it can also be life saving in a lot of ways for many queer players. Specifically, for folks right now in the trans space that are being attacked on a political level, right?”
“So I think that’s where we really double down on our mission,” Corsino continued. “This is an exciting moment, it’s a cultural trend, it’s an entertaining trend. But there’s people out here that this is their passion and we want to make sure that we’re taking full advantage of it. While also, obviously, having fun.”
