Right. Heated Rivalry. Let’s talk about it… before I explode. 

I just finished watching this series and I can’t stop thinking about it. The passion, the secrecy, the undeniable connections, the appalling 90s Gladiatorcore cover art. 

Obsessed is an understatement (crappy series art aside). 

I think this may be the most perfect LGBTQ+ enemies to lovers trope series I’ve ever watched.  Now, I’ll be honest. Sports isn’t really my thing. Not sporty. Never have been. I’m really more of a Star Trek girlie, and proud of it. 

However, I discovered sports romance by accident a few years ago and I’ve been completely obsessed ever since. 

But I’m really not into sports. 

Like, at all.

Which is probably why I’ve never really stopped to think about the toxic masculinity at play, or the insanely macho cultural expectations foisted upon sports professionals.

Until now. 

Pre-warning, many spoilers ahead. I’m trying to process, here!

Heated Rivalry follows several hockey players as they navigate the highs and lows of a sport that is, for them, basically a religion. These boys are invested. Their families are invested. Their friend groups, identities, entire personalities revolve around one thing: hockey.

These men are navigating a world that idolises cis, straight men, who hit hard, chase women, swallow their feelings, and only consider their differences settled when blood hits the ice. 

From the very start of Heated Rivalry, with that scene in the alley, and all the subtle glances, I knew the show was destined to be a gay love story. And yet nothing could have prepared me for the emotional hurricane I’d just blundered into. 

Two professional hockey players. Both captains of rival teams. Each fighting for top of the standings. 

Shane’s this sweet, gentle, Canadian teddy bear. Ilya’s the cold, rude (putting it bluntly) arsehole from Russia. 

But they have two things in common: they live for ice hockey, and they’re gay.

Even if neither of them know it yet. 

Why Heated Rivalry Is Your Next Hockey Romance Obsession…

Heated Rivalry kicks off with a post-training shower scene. Ilya’s cheeky personality and confident exterior are revealed, and they hugely contrast Shane’s shy and timid nature. 

The tension in that scene was HOT. 

But the fear in Shane’s eyes… 

He never knew he was gay, until that moment. Looking at Ilya really was his gay awakening. They couldn’t take their eyes off each other. 

And Ilya wasn’t really trying to. 

As the show progresses, the pressure created by their love story gets steadily heavier. 

It begins with quiet whispers of room numbers. Naughty. Enticing. When they start texting and dub each other ‘Jane’ and ‘Lily’ it’s all just a bit intoxicating. The fear of being caught, the relief of covering themselves. The subtle smirks nobody but the viewer picks up on every time their friends joke about Jane or Lily…

And of course, while all this is going on Kip and Scott had me in a chokehold.

Scott is another rival hockey player, also team captain, also gay. He’s a very private guy, and doesn’t do relationships. Until he meets Kip. A passionate, hard working, openly gay guy who works at a local smoothie shop.

I wish we could’ve seen more of them. I was so scared for Kip. He’s so sweet, and falls so hard, but from the get go I was convinced he was going to get his heart broken. 

Why?

Because they’re all hockey players…

Gay Men, Hockey, And Toxic Masculinity

Heated Rivalry essentially explores one key theme from several angles, through the relationships of several pairs of gay men, struggling to navigate their feelings in the world of sports. As hockey players they have eyes on them 24/7. And no matter where they go, they’re walking through a plume of toxic masculinity. 

In changing rooms. On the ice. Events. Online. 

There’s no escape for these men. 

Every time someone’s teased, the first insult is always: “Gay!” 

Hearing that constantly? No wonder they’re all terrified to openly be themselves.

Shane and Ilya aren’t alone in this predicament. Scott and Kip have issues too.

What starts as Scott stopping for a quick (flirty) pre-training smoothie, turns into a pre-match ritual. Kip starts switching shifts so he’s always there. Scott claims the ritual makes him play better. Makes him a winner.

Because in a world where being gay is the punchline of every joke, how can he admit that the difference is Kip?

Scott doesn’t want to hide this relationship. That’s painfully clear when he wins the league. He’s standing alone, watching everyone’s friends and family run onto the ice to celebrate. And he’s searching the crowd for the one person he wants to see in that moment. 

That’s when he knew. That’s when he stopped lying to himself. When he realised he no longer wanted to lie to everyone else.

All he wanted in that moment of victory was to tell the world how much he loved this sweet man from the smoothie shop. 

So he calls Kip down onto the ice. And Kip’s stood there, tears streaming down his face, no idea what to do. 

My fucking heart 😱

When Kip finally joins Scott on the ice, and they kiss…

Talk about the biggest coming out story in ice hockey history. 

I SOBBED.

I’m not ashamed to admit it.

It was also a big, fat, internationally televised kick in the balls for toxic masculinity and rampant homophobia in hockey. That kiss made way for the sports industry to be slightly more accepting. Which brings us back to Shane and Ilya. 

Because they’re both sitting there, watching this kiss unfold on their TV screens, and instantly text each other…

Chef’s kiss.

Russia, Realisations, And Cottagecore…

Both men are pushed towards the truth by women who see it before they can say it themselves: Shane by a short-lived girlfriend who helps him understand he isn’t just gay, but in love, and Ilya by his childhood best friend in Russia, who quietly makes it clear she knows the person he loves is a man.

When Ilya is finally forced to confront this truth, he’s back home in Russia dealing with a horrible loss, and he knows deep down that the only person who could make him feel better is Shane. But when he called him, it’s all too much. He can’t get the words out. 

Shane lets him vent in Russian, even though Shane doesn’t speak Russian, because he just wants to be there for him any way he can.

And it works. 

BUT, at the end of this monologue, Ilya finally admits his true feelings for Shane, knowing Shane can’t understand a word he was saying. 

I screamed. 

I’ve never felt so emotionally destroyed by a phone call.

Ilya says everything he needs to say, but isn’t ready to tell Shane… in Russian. Can we just point out the impeccable symbolism here? To speak Russian and not be understood, because Russia doesn’t understand. 

Gut-wrenching.

But every little breakthrough is building to something much bigger. Ilya’s experiences while he’s back home with his family. The kiss between Scott and Kip airing on TV. The women in these men’s lives gently nudging them towards the truth while wholeheartedly accepting them exactly as they are. It’s all building to something inevitable…

That kiss between Scott and Kip really sparked something for the hockey world as a whole. It gives Ilya the confidence to accept Shane’s invitation to his cottage for a quiet getaway. And when they’re finally away from all the fame and the fear, just the two of them, secluded in the lakes… 

I was on edge the whole time, thinking someone was going to catch them. I was thinking paparazzi, but it was so much more dramatic.

Shane’s dad innocently pops in to get a charger, only to find Shane and Ilya mid-makeout session in the kitchen.

As Shane turned around and saw his dad standing there, the world caved in. 

My heart broke for him.

Shane had tried to tell his parents so many times, but couldn’t find the words. Then to be discovered like this? It was his worst nightmare. 

And then his dad just drives off without saying a word.

Shane’s parents’ reaction to finding out about him and Ilya was messy and imperfect, but that made it feel real: shock, fear, tears, apology, acceptance, and finally the relief of seeing Ilya welcomed into a family in a way his own never allowed. 

It’s an intense ride, but man, are you glad when they finally get there.

Obviously I Had To Go Buy All The Books…

I was down a hole after finishing this series. The hangover was bad, but in a good way. Like when you finish a book that completely wrecked you and immediately want to read it all over again.

Heated Rivalry opened my eyes to just how damaging toxic masculinity in the sports industry can be. It made me mull over cultural expectations for men in a way I probably should have before, but never really did, because I was too busy with my feminine rage.

At the end of the day we’re all human and everyone deserves to be loved. 

This show really makes you viscerally aware of the pressures public figures face. The lengths they’re forced to go to just to navigate having feelings, while standing in the public eye. 

It really made me feel for them. All of them.

But Shane and Ilya? They wasted over a decade fearing what might happen if they came out. They hid their true feelings. For over ten years.

It just made me think about how important it is to cherish the life you live, the people around you, and take control of your own story.

Anything could’ve happened while they were too afraid to be together. Shane’s accident could’ve been so much worse. Ilya might never have come home from Russia. 

They might never have got their Happy Ever After.

We’re lucky to live in a time where there is a lot more acceptance, and humans have a lot more freedom. Although, that’s not the case everywhere, or for everyone. 

I’m not new to reading MM romance, I’ve always enjoyed the perspective of other love stories. And while I do mostly read F/M books, I now have this entire new outlook on the cultural expectations in the sporting industry, and need more. 

Naturally the second I finished this series I was like, “Is this based on a book?” 

Surely, I’ll get even more insight out of a book. 

Not only is it a book. It’s an entire series! Yes I ordered the whole lot.

No, I do not expect to sleep until I’ve read them all!

The series starts with a whole book just for Kip and Scott. A whole book! Not just one episode! We’re going to get so much more depth to their love story. I can’t wait. 

If you’re after a new sports romance that makes you feel like you’re a part of the story. If you want extreme tension, heat, and secrecy. If you want to be absolutely wrecked in the best possible way, then this is definitely for you. 

Now, I’m off to read book one. I’ll let you all know what I think…