Growing up, queer characters never got to truly be happy, so imagine my surprise when Heated Rivalry came out.
For those who aren’t aware, “Heated Rivalry” is a Crave original based on books by Rachel Reid, following two of the top hockey players in the book’s league, Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. The two meet the summer before their rookie season, and the storyline follows their hidden romance and eventual relationship.
Also, for those who aren’t aware, hockey is a notoriously unaccepting sport. I love hockey, I always have, which is why I’ve written about the culture issues within the sport before. The National Hockey League, or NHL, has specifically banned pride tape and jerseys in recent years.
It’s also one of the only professional leagues with no out players, both current or retired. Luke Prokop is the exception, a prospect playing in the AHL who came out publicly in 2021, but has yet to play in the NHL.
Note: “Heated Rivalry” spoilers below this line.
Episode six of Heated Rivalry sees longtime player Scott Hunter, who publicly comes out after winning the cup, deliver a raw speech about how lonely it is to be in a sport where he knows he’s different and about when he started to wonder if he was one of those things that hockey players throw around as an insult.
Trying to imagine that happening in the “real” world feels impossible. But the reaction in the series is completely different. It’s a world where he is able to both be with the man he loves and play the game he loves. It’s a fantasy so many people desperately want to get lost in.
This is followed up by one of the most impactful coming-out scenes that I’ve seen. Shane finally comes out to his parents, but a conversation he has with his mom was particularly gut-wrenching, not because it is sad, but because of how lovely it is.
Getting a world where people are accepting is so much more important than people realize. Numerous cast members have discussed how agents or players in various leagues have reached out to them regarding being closeted in leagues not ready or willing to accept them.
It feels so rare to get to see two queer characters happy, riding off into the sunset together, knowing that they’re loved and able to love each other.
Watching characters come out and talk about how lonely it was to be hiding just really hit home. Watching these scenes made me feel 14 again, listening to girls in the locker room whisper about who in the league they thought was a part of the LGBTQ+ community. It made me feel 16 again, feeling like I had to constantly defend my relationship. I was even 20 again, watching the NHL decide that pretending to care about the LGBTQ+ community was too much work.
My only issue with the show isn’t with the series itself, the actors or directors, it’s with the fans flocking to the NHL, blissfully unaware of how the league treats people that aren’t part of the “in group”.
I’m all for growing the game; it’s a sport I’ve loved since before I could walk. My problem with this influx of fans is the way the league is profiting off of this love story that it knows it would never accept. An NHL spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter that this was the most unique way the NHL has acquired new fans, and “see you all at the rink”.
Right.
It’s so incredibly frustrating to watch the NHL play into the series as if they’re in on some sort of joke. It’s frustrating to watch major sports outlets make jokes about the show for engagement because that’s all it’s about for them. Engagement. They couldn’t care less about the new fans, let alone the current LGBTQ+ fans.
Regardless of how the NHL is profiting from the show, LGBTQ+ fans get to profit as well. To see a relationship normalized where one of them doesn’t get killed off to “further the plot” is a refreshing breath of fresh air, especially considering the political climate of the time.
Regardless of the real culture surrounding hockey, having a show about a love story that doesn’t end in tragedy, with the way the world is at the moment, is a glimmer of hope. Happy love stories deserve to exist, especially stories like these.