Not to be all gender essentialist or anything, but I swear to god there is nothing like a man for screwing up a good thing.
I have just come down from a blissful few weeks, an absolute fever dream of hockey fandom. I don't know if you're tuned into hockey media, but the Heated Rivalry TV show has had been AWESOME for hockey lovers! It genuinely turned actual hockey from a sport that people followed into a proper fandom. It just honestly felt so cheerful and wholesome, with my social media full of cute hockey fan edits and Capcuts and memes and craft projects and funny discussions.
And then the Olympics started, and it got even better! We're talking all that, plus 2+ hockey games a day to watch, PLUS all the extra wholesome, cheerful cuteness that comes specifically from the Olympics. I subscribe to the admittedly idealized notion that the Olympics is meant to celebrate sportsmanship as much as athleticism, and it was really cool to see the PWHL and NHL players dispersed throughout the various countries' teams, as well as the USA and Canada teams consisting of pro players from all the different PWHL and NHL teams.
It has to have been THE best time to have been a hockey fan.
And now it sucks, so thanks, Trump.
And like, I'm not stupid. I know the NHL has a huge toxic masculinity problem, that it's historically misogynistic and homophobic and racist. But I'd ABSOLUTELY thought that history was on my side, and that every year it was trending just a little more towards actual diversity and acceptance, towards You Can Play and Hockey is for Everyone, etc. Like, surely the NHL wants more fans--or at least their money--and if becoming more diverse and less toxic was clearly the key to that, then clearly they would jump on it. With this active fan culture of late, female-forward and diverse and queer and having a lot of fun, it was really feeling like we were on the cusp of some kind of revolution.
But obviously we weren't, because the NHL and most of the players in it are actively rich boy right-wing misogynistic MAGA bullies who think it's funny to laugh at the expense of the USA Women's Hockey Team, who objectively did better than them in the Olympics, by the way, and then not apologize, and then act like people are overreacting when they're mad about it.
Whatever. They came out of the whole thing looking stupid, they clearly don't actually want me as a fan, or care about my little bit of fan-money I was spending on them, and now I'm gonna watch the PWHL instead.
My NHL dysphoria is so bad right now that if I'd written this review of Tough Guy last week, I'd probably have given it two stars, because it's not that good, but today? Ryan and Fabian are getting four stars from me, just for the pleasure they bring by living in a world in which there are multiple openly gay professional male hockey players.
The fact that Fabian is portrayed as a kind of Violin Ed Sheeran and it's so corny? Don't care anymore. Love him.
The crazy height difference descriptions, including the time that Fabian and Ryan are dancing and we learn that Ryan's belt buckle is bumping into Fabian's RIB CAGE, and also I can't look it up because I listened to the audio version but I swear there's a time that Fabian STANDS ON A LITERAL CHAIR and is about Ryan's height? Completely realistic. No notes.
I did genuinely love the interesting way that this relationship threaded the needle between Game Changer's insta love and Heated Rivalry's eight-year situationship. Having Fabian and Ryan as childhood friends who'd lost contact did allow for some elements of insta love that got to feel realistic, because we know that they've done all that boring getting to know you work off-screen, and now we get to focus on how they build this emotional connection, the cute dates and waffle brunches with Fabian's friends, etc. I was not at all into the physical chemistry between Fabian and Ryan, but that's okay, I guess, because they're into each other.
I *was* pretty into the premise that Ryan is an enforcer, because the NHL doesn't have those anymore (John Scott did the BEST job at the 2016 All-Star Game, and also kinda caused the long-overdue dismantling of the enforcer position as a whole because the NHL was just that butthurt about how genuinely wonderful he was). I feel like the premise that Ryan hates being an enforcer is also earned (see also: John Scott), with his goal being the most heartwarming part of the book, but imo Fabian made waaaay too much out of watching Ryan's hockey fight highlight reel. Like, it's not a dogfight or cockfight or baby bunny fight or whatever--they're grown men! They're fine!
Also, mental note that when you've got a crush on an artist, the romantic thing to do is to PURCHASE all their music to binge. Ryan is too sweet to pirate music like everyone else, and I love that for him. Or he's just too rich, but whatever. I'll take it, as long as he's supporting small artists.
Random notes:
- My genuinely favorite part of the book is when Ryan refers to his body as "an old, weathered barn." It's evocative, and surprisingly poetic.
- My favorite character in this series so far is Wyatt. Love a backup goalie, especially one that logs a ton of volunteer hours!
- My current favorite part of all the non-Heated Rivalry books I've read in this series so far is when Ilya makes his Gay Fairy Hockey Godfather cameo. It's so random and funny, and honestly kind of out of character, but I don't care, because it's Ilya!
- At some point, Shane and Ilya will collect the full set of queer male pro hockey players--plus Wyatt! And maybe Hayden!--for their hockey charity.
- I've been spoiled a little bit for The Long Game, just enough that I don't have DIYing a Voyageurs jersey on my to-do list, and now that Wyatt is also a Centaur I think they should also collect all the queer male pro hockey players--other than Scott Hunter, I guess, who is currently being smug and perfect and happy in Common Goal--for Ottawa. It would be even better if Ryan came out of retirement, since it seems like he actually does like hockey when he gets to properly play, or he could coach and that might be even cuter.
- And then if they DO manage to collect all the queer male pro hockey players, obviously they must win the Cup!
In conclusion, I still want to DIY Shane's Team Canada sherpa, and a Boston Bears sweater with "Rosanov" on the back, but thank GAWD that I did not pull the trigger on the "Quinn Hughes Surrounded by Ghosts" cross-stitch pattern I was eyeing. I'm not saying I'm never watching NHL hockey again, because Sidney Crosby has yet to disappoint me, but that league as a whole is in my personal penalty box for at least the rest of this season while I develop my far more appropriate and non-problematic crush on Hilary Knight.
Go, Torrent!
Game Changer Reviews:
- Game Changer
- Heated Rivalry
- Tough Guy
- Common Goal (I'm reading this right now!)
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