To say we’re gagged is an understatement!
If you’ve somehow avoided the internet, TV, magazines, radio, or any form of pop culture entertainment over the last few months, then chances are you’ve heard of (or become obsessed with) the universally acclaimed gay hockey romance drama Heated Rivalry.
However, years before the Jacob Tierney-created series took over the world with Shane and Ilya’s decade-spanning love story, we almost had a gay sports romance from Oscar winners Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
In a recent interview on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM radio show, The Odyssey star opened up about his childhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, including his longtime friendship with Affleck.
“[I grew up] two blocks away from Ben. That’s how we met when we were kids… I was ten, and he was eight,” he revealed.
When Cohen cheekily asked Damon if they played hockey together, “like in Heated Rivalry,” the latter playfully responded: “No, we did not play hockey. Baseball. I don’t know if you’ve read The Dreyfus Affair. It’s a different sport.”
After the Watch What Happens Live host expressed shock at The Rip star reading the aforementioned gay baseball romance novel, the latter revealed that he and Affleck had nearly adapted it into a live-action project.
“Cmon I’m with ya. It’s a great book. We almost made it years ago, [but] the script just wasn’t good enough. But the story is– the book was great,” he explained.
@siriusxm Matt Damon did not come to play with his diet for The Odyssey 🤯 Hear more from his conversation about this year’s highly anticipated Christopher Nolan release with @andycohen at the link in the comments! #SiriusXM #MattDamon #TheOdyssey #AndyCohen #ChristopherNolan ♬ original sound – siriusxm
Written by Peter Lefcourt, The Dreyfus Affair: A Love Story is a “seriocomic” novel that parallels Heated Rivalry, exploring homophobia and LGBTQIA+ stigma in sports.
However, the main character, Randy Dreyfus, and his love interest, D.J. Pickett, aren’t on rival baseball teams.
The official synopsis for The Dreyfus Affair: A Love Story reads: “When a star shortstop falls in love with the second baseman, the result is a provocative and rollicking odyssey through an unforgettable World Series Championship season. What this does to their lives, families, team, and the President of the US is hilarious, poignant, brilliant, and dazzling fun.”
Unsurprisingly, Damon’s interview went viral on social media, with some users expressing their sadness over the project that never was, while others called for The Martian star to revisit the idea.
“I’m gonna throw myself out the window, we could have seen fucking Matt Damon and Ben Affleck kissing each other, I’m never gonna get over it,” one X/Twitter user wrote.
Another fan tweeted: “WE CAN TRY AGAIN! GET IN THE WRITING ROOM! LET’S GO MATTFLECK LET’S GO!”
A third user joked: “These old men love pissing me off omg GET BACK ON THAT SCRIPT PRONTO.”
While we’ll have to wait and see if Damon and Affleck will ever adapt The Dreyfus Affair: A Love Story, there are plenty of gay sports romance stories to watch in the meantime.
In addition to Heated Rivalry and its confirmed second season, LGBTQIA+ TV enthusiasts are set to be treated to Crave’s new lesbian softball series, Slo Pitch.
For more information on the upcoming 10-episode mockumentary, click here.
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