Breaking Down your Boyfriend’s Favorite Gay Hockey Show

Hudson Williams, left, and Connor Storrie in “Heated Rivalry.” (Sabrina Lantos/HBO Max/TNS)

Hockey, to me, is the most fun sport to watch live. It’s fast-paced, there’s a lot of contact, and a super hard rubber puck gets shot around and sometimes even hits people in the face. Crazy stuff.

Now imagine you have no interest in the sport, no knowledge of the history or teams, or even the basic rules – and someone introduces the concept of the players having intense relationships off the ice.

Obviously, it would cause you to have a newfound interest in the sport. That’s exactly what happened for a lot of people with the introduction of the HBO show “Heated Rivalry.”

Now, the plot of this show is far from PG. The first and second overall picks in the same draft class become each other’s secret hookup and even continue to develop an intense romance without anyone’s knowledge.

The show displays many different aspects of queer relationships that are not often depicted on major streaming platforms. It also conveys in depth the intense lifestyle of professional athletes.

The phenomenon I can’t help but notice in the reception of the show’s premiere season is the fact that so many women are attracted to the two main characters. Straight and queer women alike have been very outspoken about all of the different reasons why this attraction is taking place, but the fact that the show itself is centered around a relationship between two men is what is so intriguing to me.

Some claim it’s simply the actors’ physical attributes that make them so attractive, while others propose traits that aren’t as easily measurable. Some women are speaking out about their attraction to men who are willing to and comfortable with displaying their vulnerability.

Now, I know some will combat this by saying something along the lines of, “women want strong men to support them,” and though that may be true in some cases, I think it’s safe to say that women overall want a partner who isn’t afraid to be vulnerable with them.

Now, before I continue, it would be very distasteful for me to claim that all women who have watched this show are now undoubtedly swooning over the men on their screens. Largely, I think people overall (not just women) feel a sense of protectiveness over the characters.

Both of them find themselves in their – very public – careers while also trying to maintain this sense of privacy. Maybe it’s a parental feeling that some are experiencing, or maybe some queer viewers are finding this journey of self-discovery relatable.

This show has been a catalyst for starting discourse in the hockey world, throughout queer communities, at so many dinner tables, and between friends of all kinds. It has caused players in the NHL to speak out in support of the LGBTQ+ community, the NHL commissioner to retract homophobic policies, and open the sport of hockey up to a new demographic.

This show is actively breaking down stereotypes about what it means to be queer and also what it means to be an athlete.

By portraying professional athletes as emotionally complex, centering queer relationships without tragedy, and providing women agency and voice surrounding topics that are traditionally male-dominated, the show is actively breaking down barriers and allowing everyone to converse about very real topics- and bringing new fans to hockey.