And when the characters do finally get together? It’s joyful and complete and maybe just the tiniest bit of wish-fulfillment. One of my favorite longtime crushes that finally gets resolved is Ron and Hermione’s relationship in the Harry Potter series. They want each other for years, and both their own personalities and the stress of survival in their world keep getting between them. Ron, in particular, has to work so hard to understand his own feelings and become someone who deserves Hermione. When he finally gets his act together, and they find one another, it truly feels like coming home.

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Here are my top five favorite films that brilliantly meld the romance with the sportsball.

The Cutting Edge: I recently rewatched this movie, and it is bad. The Cutting Edge is not a good film, friends. It’s basically one giant montage with a few kissing scenes spliced in. Not that I’m complaining! For me, this movie is pure nostalgia and wish fulfillment. As a kid, I used to dream about being an Olympic figure skater, even though I can barely skate. And, during one of the Winter Olympics in the early ‘90s (I think; I could be making this up), there was an ad where a figure skater challenged a really hot hockey player to a shootout. I don’t know. That’s how I remember it. There’s just something about guys in hockey sweaters wooing girls in fancy skating costumes.

Just Wright: Queen Latifah is gorgeous and adorable in this movie as a physical therapist for a pro-basketball player (Common, not so bad himself). Again, this is not the “greatest” movie on the planet, but the leads are so likable, you’ll find yourself grinning throughout the entire runtime.

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I’m pretty particular when it comes to my ships. Just because a couple makes eyes at each other and shares a few scorchers doesn’t make them OTP. I’m going to share a few must-haves for my fave fictional couples today. What are yours? Let us know in the comment section!

1. Give me all the complicated characters – Have a character with their life together? Perfect job? Awesome relationship? Loyal BFF? Not my jam. I want issues. I want complicated. The more the better because, in my eyes, it makes them interesting. It makes them real. Give me flaws and I’ll give you every last bit of my attention. Complicated characters in a complicated relationship = WIN.
2. Let me see them fight – If there’s no fire, I’m not getting on that ship. And I’m not talking smooches. Their physical attraction could set the universe on fire and I wouldn’t care. In order for a couple to get my attention, they have to have clash—at least a little. Give me snarky banter and passionate disagreements. Then, of course, give me those cosmos blazing smooches 😉
3. Give that road some bumps – It might sound mean, but I don’t want to see them get their happily ever after. At least not right away. I want to see them struggle for it. The more obstacles they have to overcome, the more hoops to jump through, the better. The harder it is for them to be together, the harder I’m going to fall. Uh, hello Olicity anyone?
4. Set that ship on fire – Obviously in addition to all of the above, in order for a ship to sail in my eyes, it’s gotta have heat you can feel. If the characters are telling us that they’re in love but it’s not coming across in their interaction, then it’sgonna fall flat. Give me intense looks and oodles of tension. Give me dialog that sets the air on fire. This is the icing on the ship-cake (Shh—that’s a thing!) so it’s gotta be sweet. 😉

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. But at the last minute, she realized her true path lay with fiction, not food. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

About Omega (The Infinity Division, #2):

One mistake can change everything. Ashlyn Calvert finds that out the hard way when a bad decision leads to the death of her best friend, Noah Anderson.

Only Noah isn’t really gone. Thanks to his parents’ company, the Infinity Division, there is a version of him skipping from one dimension to another, set on revenge for the death of his sister, Kori. When a chance encounter brings him face-to-face with Ash, he’s determined to resist the magnetic pull he’s felt for her time and time again. Because falling for Ash puts his mission—and their lives—in danger.

And it’s still true for me, even as a jaded adult. When Sheldon finally kissed Amy on “The Big Bang Theory” I was so shocked, but immediately let out an “Awwww!” The way it started as sarcastic, because they were arguing about Sheldon’s lack of romance, but then it caught, and he stepped in close, realizing that he really did want to kiss Amy. So great.

Then, there’s the “almost-kiss.”

As a writer, it’s one of my favorite reader torture devices. Yeah, I know, the groans are audible. But—think about it. You have a couple that’s practically setting the snow on fire with desire and the tension is unbearable. They’re drawing together, this close to kissing…

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Or, not really “missed out on.” More like “only experienced in my head.”

I didn’t have a lot of game back in high school. The fictional character I most closely identify with—in a whole slew of ways, including a love of cheese—is Liz Lemon from 30 Rock. And watching the episode where she goes back to high school and realizes that she’d been kind of a bully who was a big jerk to people hit a little too close to home. I don’t think I was mean to people necessarily, god I hope not, but I was definitely sarcastic, aloof, and maybe a little above it all.

Anyway, this arm’s-length attitude coupled with a very unfortunate sense of style meant to cover up my poor body image led to me not having a lot of luck with the gentlemen.

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