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It's getting heated in here… |
| Welcome to The Group Chat, where sports and culture meet and mingle. We missed you! What did you get up to over the holidays? We spent ours refining our New Year's resolutions, perfecting our fitness routines, cleaning our homes…just kidding. We did nothing but watch Heated Rivalry.
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 | Meet us at the cottage | |
 Source: Harold Feng/Getty Images via Hollywood Reporter. 6. The spreads in Vanity Fair and Teen Vogue For a show that was made with a famously low budget and two previously unknown leading actors, it's a BFD to land major coverage in legacy outlets. It's also validating to fans — works of romance fiction, especially those featuring queer characters, are not always taken seriously in mainstream media.
5. The ginger ale taste test The beverage plays a subtle but important role in Shane and Ilya's relationship (IKYK). While the show has been a massive point of pride for Canadians, they may have been slightly disappointed in Williams, who's from Kamloops, British Columbia, but couldn't identify a crispy Canada Dry in a blind taste test. Shane would never. |
| Presented by Amazon Prime 😃 2026 is full of possibilities Source: Amazon Prime New year, new you sounds great, but it takes time to build new habits. Looking for the right gear to help you level up lickety-split? Look no further than Prime.
Progress is always possible when you have the right support — find yours on Prime. |
If you loved Heated Rivalry, add these to your queue | ||
 | 1. | Co-hosts Ellen and Steph talk about a real-life heated rivalry: Before there was Shane and Ilya, there was Team Canada captain Caroline Ouellette and Team USA captain Julie Chu. Spoiler alert, they live happily ever after. |
 | 2. | Heated Rivalry is just the beginning — Reid is the gay hockey romance queen. The Long Game is the Heated Rivalry sequel you're dying to read, but The Shots You Take is a favorite around The GIST HQ. |
 | 3. | 831 Stories, a romantic fiction company, has a hat for nearly every romance novel trope, but we know which one will be your favorite. |
| 4. The wrap party interpretive dance Heated Rivalry may be a drama, but Storrie and Williams are pure comedy. Example A: This video of them…um, dancing at the first season's wrap party, where they go all out on displaying their athleticism. They noted in a separate interview that the dance was entirely improv, a testament to their tight connection and relentlessly unserious vibe. 3. Hudson Williams' appearance on The Tonight Show While Jimmy Fallon was wildly uncomfortable (in more ways than one), Williams was wildly charming, leaving fans screaming from start to finish. First stretching, then skincare — what part of Williams' wellness routine will become our Roman Empire next? 2. The hilarious, NSFW Buzzfeed celeb interview You're going to want to wear headphones to watch this video in a public space. It's no secret that Heated Rivalry is, well, hot — there are a lot more sex scenes than there are hockey ones. In this interview, Storrie and Williams read and react to fans' "thirst tweets" about them, and the result is a lot of clappable material. |
 | Learn the Lore | |
| ICYMI, GISTers have been all over queer hockey romances since the beginning. As women fans across sports gain more and more recognition, they're revolutionizing sports culture with their unique expressions of fandom. Sports romance novels are a huge part of this increased representation.
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| TOGETHER WITH Travel Texas  Source: Travel Texas 🌊 Waves crashing, pristine soft sand, and a warm breeze — can you believe it's all in Texas? The Lone Star State is so much more than cowboys and BBQ (though the brisket is truly unbeatable). Our friends at Travel Texas want you to see the sights for yourself.
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| 1. Discussing closeted athletes on The Andy Cohen Show Yes, this press tour has been unbelievably fun, but it's also doing wonders for representation in hockey and other men's sports — for fans and for athletes. Williams told Cohen that closeted pro athletes have anonymously reached out to him and Rachel Reid, the author of the book the show is based on, to share the impact the show has had on them. If you ever needed proof that representation matters, this is it. |
 | At The GIST HQ What (else) We're Loving | |
| 🌴 Defeating: The mid-winter blues with another romance book adaptation set in the sun. 🔏 Locking in: Our makeup looks with this magical mist. 🪞 Reflecting: On our self-concept and building confidence. 🧶 Obsessing: Over these incredible handmade jerseys. "Women's sports knitter" is the job we didn't know we wanted. | ||
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