Matthew Kearney; George Kittle
Matthew Kearney and George Kittle recreate a scene from 'Heated Rivalry'.
George Kittle starred in a Heated Rivalry skit while at the 2026 Winter Olympics
The San Francisco 49ers tight end starred in the video with influencer Matt Kearny, which poked fun at the iconic cottage scene featuring the show's characters Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov
The clip was filmed during the Team USA women's hockey semi-finals, which ended in a victory against Sweden
The Heated Rivalry fandom is working its way to the NFL.
George Kittle was the star of a "cottage scene" meme that's taken the social media world by storm since the hit series premiered in November, and the location where it was filmed was oh-so fitting: the women's hockey semi-finals at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Influencer Matthew Kearney, who goes by "Gay Cousin Matt" on Instagram, created a lip-sync video with the San Francisco 49ers tight end, 32, at the Milan rink using audio from the pivotal scene where Shane Hollander asks Ilya Rozanov to join him at his cottage for the summer.
![Shane & Ilya - The Cottage Heated Rivalry
Shane & Ilya - The Cottage [Heated Rivalry
"Come to my house. We'll have so much fun. It's so private, no one will know," mouths Kearney, who pretends to be Hollander in the Instagram Reel.
"Hollander you know I can't do that," Kittle, who pretends to be Rozanov, replies to the getaway invite that plays out in the hockey romance series based on author Rachel Reid's Game Changers saga.
The influencer tacked on a text overlay that reads, "I asked an NFL player to go to the cottage and he said no."
Kearney shared some backstory in his Instagram caption, alleging that he asked Kittle's 49ers teammate Christian McCaffrey to participate in the social media trend with him. However, he said McCaffrey recommended the tight end for the role instead.
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George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a touchdown on October 08, 2023 in Santa Clara, California.
George Kittle #85 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a touchdown on October 08, 2023 in Santa Clara, California.
"I asked @christianmccaffrey to be my Ilya and he pawned me off on @gkittle," he wrote.
Heated Rivalry solidified itself as a pop culture phenomenon after being adapted for Canadian streaming service Crave. The LGBTQ+ romance series tells the story of the two hockey stars, played by Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, who go from rivals to lovers over the span of several years.
Heated Rivarly become HBO Max's top-rated non-animated acquired series and a top-five scripted debut of 2025, per Variety. In early December 2025, two weeks before the finale, the show was renewed for a second season.
Kittle isn't the first star to jump in on Heated Rivalry trends on social media. The biggest names across sports and entertainment have opened up about their love for the hit series, while Williams revealed several closeted pro athletes have since reached out to share their own stories.
Kittle and Kearny filmed the bit at a historic hockey game as Team USA women's hockey chased 2026 Olympic glory. They attended the semi-finals matchup against Sweden, where a win earned the Americans a spot in the gold medal game.
On Thursday, Feb. 19, Team USA victoriously defeated their Canadian rivals in overtime with a score of 2-1 to win gold on Thursday, Feb. 19.
With the win, team captain Hilary Knight won her second Olympic gold and fifth Olympic medal in her fifth Games. The 36-year-old previously told PEOPLE she first dreamt of playing at the Olympics when she was 7, two years before a women's tournament was added to the Games.