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From the roar of a packed MCG to the solitary shouting of a supportive parent, sports fans are passionate people.
But, in the world of fiction, at least, there’s another type of sporting passion where the real action happens off the field – sports romance. If you’ve been streaming the steamy ice hockey romance Heated Rivalry, you’ll know that the mix of sport and love can be powerfully compelling. And if the popularity of Heated Rivalry is anything to go by, many more of us are starting to see the attraction of sports romance.
So, why are so many of us being seduced by sports romance at the moment? And what does the genre mean for sport more generally? To find out, we sat down with Kasey Symons, Deakin’s lecturer of communication, sports media; and Jodi McAlister, senior lecturer in writing, literature and culture.
Sports romance is part of the broader romance genre. As McAlister explains, there are a couple of characteristics that define romance in general.
‘A romance novel has two key features: it has a central love plot (as opposed to a sub-plot) and it ends with the protagonists in a committed, happy romantic relationship, at least for the foreseeable future,’ she says.
Sports romance takes these key ideas and, as you might expect, puts them in the context of sports.
‘In a sports romance, one or more of the protagonists is a sportsperson,’ McAlister says. ‘Often they’re a professional sportsperson, but they can also be a committed amateur: just so long as the sport figures in some way into the plot.’
Heated Rivalry (and the novel series from which it was adapted, Game Changers by Rachel Reid) is just one example of what sports romance is like, but there’s a big world to explore.
Other popular titles include Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner, the Big Shots series by Tessa Bailey, and the Bergman Brothers series by Chloe Liese.
With the popularity of Heated Rivalry, it might seem as if sports romance is having a podium finish right now. But, according to Symons, it’s not so much that sports romance is growing in popularity at the moment. Rather, the genre is becoming more visible.
‘The growing visibility of women’s sport and intersections with sport and pop culture are also driving more visibility of sports romance,’ Symons says. ‘The genre has long been stigmatised but, with growing online communities and spaces offering different and diverse ways to do fandom, the sports romance genre is gaining more popularity. And while a majority of the sports romance novels are about men’s sports, the diverse culture of women’s sports is having a flow on effect to challenge the way we do fandom in other spaces. That is exciting to see as we might see professional sports becoming more inclusive for different fans who like to interact with sports in different ways.’
Particularly for queer sports romance stories like Heated Rivalry, there’s a chance for readers to glimpse an ideal version of the real world – one in which queer romance is happily accepted, and characters find love.
‘Sports romance allows more queer stories to be presented in a space that has not always welcomed the queer community, and centre joy and love,’ Symons says. ‘These stories show us sporting worlds that we wish existed, that are more inclusive and celebratory of diversity.’
If you haven’t seen Heated Rivalry, the (spoiler-free!) story goes like this: Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov are rival ice hockey players, playing for the Montreal Metros and the Boston Raiders respectively. Though the theatrics of their on-ice rivalry is well-known to fans and the media, the two players privately drift from enemies to lovers, developing a sexual and romantic relationship.
Considering the sporting context that brings Shane and Ilya together initially, can intense competition be part of the appeal of sports romance?
‘It certainly can’ says McAlister. ‘Not all sports romance is about competitors in the way that Heated Rivalry is; other books (such as Game Changer, on which the episode about Scott and Kip in the TV series is based) focus on relationships between a sportsperson and a non-sportsperson. In those books, though, sometimes the competition is between sport and love: just like Scott feels like he has to choose between Kip and continuing his pro hockey career.’
McAlister says that ice hockey is ‘easily the most popular sport in romance fiction at the moment’, with Game Changer/Heated Rivalry and Elle Kennedy’s Off Campus series some of the bigger examples. So why are hockey romances in particular becoming so popular? McAlister says that the team aspect is one big reason.
‘Team sports tend to show up more than individual sports (although individual sports are not unheard of!) in romance, in large part because they’re easier to serialise: if audiences are invested in the team, they’ll be invested in all its members finding their happy ending,’ she says. ‘We also see this in other forms of romance: werewolves are popular, for instance, because – among other things – they run in packs…’
In a recent article, Symons suggests that ice hockey’s popularity in the romance genre owes a lot to bestselling authors like Elle Kennedy, Hannah Grace, Tessa Bailey and Emily Rath, who have brought visibility to hockey-focused sports romance. Hockey, though, is far from the only setting for sports romance.
‘You name the sport and there will be a title for you: golf, chess, lacrosse, tennis, basketball, pickleball, Australian rules football, swimming, ballet, baseball and e-sports, the list goes on,’ Symons writes.
On the face of it, the Venn diagram of romance readers and sports fans doesn’t seem to have a lot of crossovers. Sports romance, though, can introduce a new audience to sports like ice hockey – something teams like the NHL’s Seattle Kraken have (unsuccessfully) been trying.
‘There is absolutely an opportunity here for organisations to do some research to understand the sports romance and BookTok audience and cater to them through specific fan engagement strategies that serve them,’ says Symons. ‘The Australian Ice Hockey League, for example, developed a genuine connection with author Emily Rath and facilitated a welcoming and safe space for romance readers and new fans at games which led to a surge in attendances and fan connection.’
Beyond just opening the door to new fans, sports romance might also have the potential to improve the landscape of sports in some important ways. Stories like Heated Rivalry, for example, explore queer love within sport in a way that is rarely seen in a landscape in which players often don’t feel comfortable coming out. As Symons explains, sports romance might have the power to normalise diversity within sporting environments and break down barriers to entry.
‘Sports romance is often criticised for being not realistic,’ Symons says. ‘But that is the point – we should be questioning why these stories are not realistic and this is where sporting organisations should be reflecting on what they can learn from these texts to make positive changes. Because while many might think sports romance is a niche genre, we’ve seen how fast audiences are growing around it and wanting more and more. There is a huge opportunity for sport to learn about these new audiences and challenge themselves to think about fandom differently.’
Senior Lecturer in Writing, Literature and Culture, Deakin University
Lecturer of Communication, Sports Media, Deakin University
