What to know
- Hudson Williams, one of the stars on Heated Rivalry, says professional athletes have been anonymously coming out to him over email and Instagram DMs.
- People have also been reaching out to the Game Changers series author, Rachel Reid.
- Fans have also been loving the Team Canada fleece Williams wore in episode two, with many making their own versions.
- Heated Rivalry’s costume designer responded to the frenzy on her Instagram, detailing her thought process designing the fleece.
Heated Rivalry might be off the air for now, but its popularity among the sports community is bigger — and more positive — than ever.
Hudson Williams, who plays Montreal Metro’s player Shane Hollander on the Crave hockey drama, revealed on Andy Cohen Live that professional sports players who are fans of the show have been anonymously coming out to him via email.
He says he’s received emails — and Instagram messages — from “hockey players, football players, basketball players” and explained, “It’s definitely the people who reach out somewhat anonymously who are like, ‘I’m a professional player still, and I’m still in the closet.’”
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Elaborating further, WIlliams adds that people have also been reaching out to the Game Changers series author Rachel Reid, who relays the emails back to him.
“So, then they’re reaching out to Rachel, our author, who will then kind of relay these lovely anonymous emails. And sometimes they’re just reaching out privately through Instagram, and those ones are the ones that really just kind of hit you and go, ‘Oh, so this is a fun show, and it’s celebratory, but also sometimes it’s just hitting people right in the nerve,” Williams says.
A much-wanted ‘Team Canada’ fleece
On another wholesome note, a faux Team Canada fleece worn by WIlliams in the show went viral this week, with fans begging for the opportunity to purchase it in real life.
In the second episode, his character Shane is seen sporting a white zippered fleece with maple leafs on each arm, ‘CANADA’ embroidered on the back and red collar accents. Hanna Puley, the costume designer for Heated Rivalry, posted on Instagram about her thought process, writing, “I really wanted to make olympic gear that actually felt wearable and cozy. The idea of approachability and comfort was really important for me here. As well as showcasing Canadian identity — which to me feels like quiet confidence.”
The excitement has resulted in a Change.org petition to make the fleece official Team Canada merch, TikToks of fans making their own versions and social media comments, such as this one by Threads user ‘thelibraryoflaur’ asking brands to make the fleece a reality: “hey @teamcanada @lululemon I know you’ve already released the 2026 uniform but we NEED Shane’s fleece. I promise it will be your best seller.”
The frenzy regarding the coveted fleece got so big it even reached the official Team Canada Instagram account, with their social media team writing on Threads, “Not us realizing you were all excited about Heated Rivalry and not the legitimate Team Announcement 🤣🇨🇦 Let’s be excited for both!”
So, maybe this fleece will be more than just a fever dream, or at least one can hope.
