All roads lead back to Sidney Crosby in host Brenna's 2026 birthday episode, where we discuss all things hockey! Guest of the pod Em joins us and provides vital information about the current state of hockey — thank you, Em! — as we dive into: material-discursive analysis of masculinity in men's hockey, internalized homophobia, relative degrees of emotional safety as a fan engaging with different iterations on the same sport, generational talent and failure, and what gives rpf the sauce. It's a meaty one, y'all.

Fics discussed in this episode: Yekaterinburg Standard Time by sevenfists (Hockey RPF), the art of staying by nightswatch (Check Please!), and love takes miles by corsi (Game Changers Series / Heated Rivalry)

We also reference the academic article "What a bust": Character selection and the possibilities of failure in hockey RPF, by Júlia Zen Dariva  and Natália Brauns Cazelgrandi Ferreira, which is open source on the OTW's journal of transformative works and cultures.