Once upon a time, there was a passionate and intense tale of two friends turned clandestine lovers, all while growing older, working side by side, and having girlfriends. No, not Heated Rivalry. I’m talking about Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, obviously.
Yes, this duo is back at the top of our minds this week after Damon appeared on Live with Andy Cohen to promote his and Affleck’s new film, The Rip, where he revealed that the two nearly made a gay baseball movie years back. Respectfully, give it to us. We demand it.
The conversation started as many do, with a Heated Rivalry catch-up. (I mean, what else is there to talk about these days?) Damon said he hadn’t seen it, to which Cohen replied, “If you love hockey, you’ll love it.” Wink.
While Damon said he never played hockey, he did grow up playing Little League baseball with Affleck. What is this, some kind of secret code? He’s doing absolutely nothing to dissuade us from buying into the longtime rumors.
He then shared that they (Matt + Ben <3) nearly adapted the 1992 novel The Dreyfuss Affair into a film. The book follows married shortstop Randy Dreyfuss, who falls in love with second baseman D.J. Pickett, a Black man, and explores themes of homophobia and racism within America’s favorite pastime. Folks, I’m seated, as they say.
Matt Damon reveals to Andy Cohen that he and Ben Affleck almost adapted ‘The Dreyfus Affair’, a book about two baseball players who fell in love, years ago, but the script wasn’t good enough. pic.twitter.com/HA6Bz9oIGH
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) January 14, 2026
“We almost made it years ago. Yeah, the script just wasn’t good enough, but the story is. The book was great,” Damon said. Boo!!!!! You can’t just drop that after all this time. Put this in development now.
Granted, it would be incorrect to assume that they (Matt + Ben <3) would play the leads, since Pickett’s character is Black. But it certainly would have been a groundbreaking film for these two Bostonians to make. I won’t give up hope!
After these quotes hit my timeline, the internet flooded me with old clips of Matt and Ben being…well, gay for each other. And yes, many, many fan edits. I think it’s safe to say the algorithm knows exactly what we want to see.
Sure, I’ll buy a ticket for The Odyssey this summer, but the whole time I will be imagining Odysseus (played by Damon) on the perilous, soul-shattering journey home to at last be reunited with his one true love… Ben Affleck.
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