I Watch TV: Heated Rivalry

 

Heated Rivalry

Rookie Canadian ice hockey player Shane Hollander meets rookie Russian ice hockey player Ilya Rozanov at the Prospect Cup*. Ilya already has a reputation as being an arsehole, and he dismisses Shane. Later they’re drafted into hockey teams, Ilya first pick and goes to the Boston Raiders, Shane second and he’s the Montreal Metros. Neither able to sleep they meet by chance in the gym afterwards.

The hockey league talk up the rivalry between them and they’re put in an advert together, which Ilya reveals was his idea. In the showers they realise their attraction to each other, and meet at their hotel to have sex. They meet again at an All Star game, and Ilya gives Shane his hotel room number and they meet again to have sex. At the end of the season Shane wins Rookie Of The Year and he and Ilya argue at the party afterwards; when Ilya tries to kiss Shane he pushes him away, concerned someone will see them. There are no out gay hockey players at this moment.

There is at least one closeted gay hockey player; Shane Hunter, an American and legendary veteran player for the New York Admirals. One day he gets a smoothie from smoothie store worker Kip, following which he breaks a long no-scoring streak. Superstitious he keeps going back for smoothies and has an excellent run. Eventually he asks Kip out, their relationship complicated by his high profile (it turns out Kip didn’t know who he was, though he gets into Ice Hockey and converts his various queer friends to the sport along the way). Eventually, a fair way into the (TV) season, Scott’s team win the cup and he invites Kip to join him on the ice, coming out very publicly.

The barriers between Shane and Ilya are manifold. The two see each other rarely, only when they’re playing hockey in the same city. Both have other lovers, with Shane dating Rose Landry, a famous actress and Ilya and his friend Svetlana having a relationship where they sometimes sleep together. Shane is managed by his mother, who is quite controlling about his career, or at least the off-ice part of it. Meanwhile Ilya has a difficult relationship with his family, his father, once a senior policeman, now failing mentally. And it’s illegal to be gay in Russia.

So other than several good looking guys (and the occasional woman) having sex, what does this have to offer? The barriers they have to overcome are important and serious – as well as the two of them having to get first used to the idea of having sex and even falling in love. The hockey doesn’t drive the action – the rivalry is fake to begin with, and even manages to act as a cover for the relationship. Who would think these two would be together? They come to care for each other, and if there's anything about this that lifts it from it's concept it's somewhere here where Ilya opens up. If we did not know this was a romance then we might look at the difficulties as heading for a tragedy. But no, there’s a happy ever after, or at least a happy for now. And maybe that has to be enough.

Watch This: Gay Ice Hockey Romance
Don’t Watch This: Not much hockey

* I don’t know about Ice Hockey, I’m just here for the gay love story