Are winter sports suddenly sexy thanks to Heated Rivalry and the Olympics?

From pop-up rinks to Olympic dreams, Irish athletes are building winter sports culture despite a country short on ice

Team Ireland alpine skiier Cormac Comerford in Piazza Walther during the Milano Cortina 2026 content capture day ahead of the Winter Olympic Games in Bolzano, Italy. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

In recent weeks, what can only be described as a phenomenon took hold. Suddenly, everyone seemed to be talking about... ice hockey?

Heated Rivalry, a steamy drama about two gay ice-hockey players shot to success against the odds. Perhaps surprisingly, it has had the side effect of piquing people’s interests in the world of ice hockey. In Canada, the National Hockey League commented on the recent swell in popularity, signing off a recent press release with “see you all at the rink”.