Telling stories about sport heroes: conceptualizing the role of alternative stories in the negotiations of belonging in Dutch cities

The stories people tell about their sport hero can exist in many forms and spaces, even in contradictory manners, and still maintain value to those who carry these stories. Take the story of Enith Brigitha, a former Dutch competitive swimmer that led the Dutch swimming scene in the 1970's. After moving from Curacao to the Netherlands, Brigitha became one of the most prominent swimmers in the 60s and 70s, when women's swimming was dominated by East German women, due to a state sponsored doping program (Van Ditzhuijzen, 2017). She was the top swimmer in the Netherlands for seven years in a row, as she managed to win 21 Dutch swimming titles. In 1976, Brigitha won two bronze medals at the Olympics, making her the first black swimmer to win a medal under the Dutch flag ^[1]. In the Netherlands, Brigitha and her story as a sport hero were scarcely present in contemporary Dutch cultural memory until 2022 when a monument of hers was inaugurated in Almere, the Dutch city in which she grew up, through a local crowdfunding initiated by a podium artist, Mo Hersi, after an interview about her life ^[2]. These private donations were matched by the Culture Fund of Almere (NOS, 2022). The story of Brigitha illustrates the fact that sport heroes are part of storytelling processes that are place and time specific. Despite receiving many accolades in her athletic career, Brigitha carried a limited presence in dominant Dutch stories of heroism. Nevertheless, sport heroes that seem to be forgotten in the national imaginary can still come (back) to life in localized narratives, like Brigitha's reemergence as a hero in the collective memory in Almere.

To understand this phenomenon, this paper investigates how a localized lens on sport hero narratives contributes to a clearer understanding of the negotiation of belonging within diverse (Dutch) cities. What makes a sport hero is not exclusively the sport's accomplishments or the personal fame of an athlete. Rather, sport heroes are created through storytelling that blur the lines between facts and fantasy by becoming something new. Here, sport heroes are not seen as inherent saviors or beacons of social justice, but rather, they are defined as narratives that play a role in processes of belonging and exclusion. As Crepeau (1981) argued, to talk about sport heroes is to talk about ourselves and the communities that we belong to. Sport heroes represent, for many in society, an idealized vision on which community is constructed upon. The answers to questions people have about their identity (who am I?) are constantly being reinforced and negotiated by sport heroes' representations. Sport heroes carry the ideals and norms that become the embodiment of ideologies of belonging (Crepeau, 1981). Sports, as a form of popular culture, function as a reflection and reinforcement of social ideals, particularly through sport hero narratives. It is in this reflection of the “everyday” that we can try to further grasp the role of power, resistance and negotiation that exist in the process of belonging. Therefore, sport heroes provide access to the requirements deemed crucial to the boundaries that mark who belongs in the category of “us” and who is excluded to become “them” (Parry, 2021).

So far, the concept of sport heroes has been mostly constructed through the framework of nationalism (Crepeau, 1981; Hu et al., 2021; Lechner, 2007; Parry, 2021). Nevertheless, stories like that of Enith Brigitha showcase how narratives of sport heroes can be (re)constructed in local spaces. Therefore, questions arise about the role of locality in the choice of athletes that become sport heroes and the significance of these stories. This paper therefore aims to address this more in-depth by positioning “the city” as the ideal place to investigate the stories about sport heroes that reflect dynamic processes of belonging. By centering urban spaces, this paper addresses the expansion of sport hero narratives beyond the framework of nationalism using the theoretical lens of cultural studies (Hall, 2018).

Being a Dutch research team situated in the Netherlands ourselves ^[3], we will often take the Dutch (urban) context as a reference point in this paper and use examples from the Dutch context. Choosing such a focus has added value within a wider European context. Given the colonial history of the Netherlands, it allows for an understanding of the process of belonging within places with colonial and imperial legacies, that has largely been ignored in research on sport hero narratives. This context can exemplify how colonialism affects colonizing countries and their cities, and the narratives of belonging that are imagined in these places (Said, 1995). Wekker (2016) has shown how within European contexts, discourses to distinguish “us” vs “them” have a long history (constituting the “cultural archive” as Wekker labeled it) and the ideas and values that are seen as a requirement for belonging are heavily influenced by colonial legacies. This renders the Netherlands a relevant contextual reference point when trying to understand the complex role of narratives on sport heroes in constructions of belonging in societies with a colonial past.

It is in the context of European urban spaces that this article will provide a theoretical reflection on the role of narratives around sport heroes in the process of belonging. Reid (2017) and Kretchmar (2017) consider sport as a cultural site instead of merely a collection of sports related statistics and outcomes. The narrative around a sports game makes a sport hero not just an athlete but also a protagonist in stories of (national) belonging. This connects sport heroes to practices of storytelling where collective values are presented and negotiated (Hall, 2018). Nevertheless, before elaborating on the role of sport heroes in local and national identifications and a sense of belonging in the city, which is the core theme of this article, it is necessary to provide an overview of the main scholarly literature on sport heroes, identities and belonging so far. As most literature has focused on sport heroes in relation to national identity, that is what we will turn to first.

The use of heroes as an imaginary for common values and the construction of a common identity is an important part of community building (Lawrence and Jewett, 2002). Historically, these narratives around heroes, often connected to religious myths, played an important role in creating the feeling of belonging within a nation. Particularly in Western Europe, the idea of belonging to nations that were not only unique but also superior to others was reinforced by stories of grand and heroic men (like Napoleon I in France or Piet Hein in The Netherlands) traveling and conquering the world in the name of the nation and/or throne (Lawrence and Jewett, 2002). These imaginaries set European national identities as unique, and superior, from those they sought to conquer. They also reinforced the idea of one nation and one community of sameness (Morley and Robins, 1995). Through the process of secularization of European nations, these narratives of heroism that were based on religious myths (for example the hero's duty to venture through the seas to seek and regain control over the lost garden of Eden), over time started to become less effective in creating a sense of a common identity (Crepeau, 1981). Still, within these nations, narratives of cultural homogeneity remained necessary in maintaining a sense of community.

Consequently, stories of heroism in sports (re)emerged in the 20th century as a prominent source of (narratives of) national belonging (Parry, 2021). As nations grew and changed over time, narratives around nation-based international sports events and sport heroes aided in the myth making process that validated nations' reason to be (Elling et al., 2012). Different nations used sport heroes to construct their specific imagined community, with the specific content of the narratives and myths being dependent on time and culture (Parry, 2021). Heroes are thus contextually objectified into a status of idolization, where their image becomes a representation of the idealized identity that a nation demands of its subjects (Cashmore and Parker, 2003). This transformation is only possible if the athletes are deemed proper candidates for heroism, thus fitting into the dominant ideologies of what is required to belong in these nations at that time (Parry, 2009), as was/is remaining a sober guy next door despite their sporting success in the Netherlands (Haverkamp, 2019).

Sport heroes served as a receptive performance of the ideals that formed a sense of national community. They became a valuable source for community building as sports inherently possess the fundamental ingredients for myth affirming narratives (Lines, 2001). The distinction between winners and losers, struggle, resilience and victory, all these attributes form a strong basis for constructing the boundaries around communities of belonging (Lines, 2001). The construction and maintenance of national identity rely on the space of the imaginary to provide narratives that connect people and communities that in other, more tangible ways might not be connected. Anderson's (1991) concept of imagined community underlines this need for the imagined to construct a sense of national belonging. “Nations are now reliant on the collective imagination of the communities living within them” (Parry, 2021, p. 889). This sense of belonging is then constantly reinforced by myth building narratives, amplifying unity and oneness amongst a population. Dumitriu (2018) argues that sport heroes function as a mirror of national identity that fuels this sense of national pride, connection and “we-ness”. Therefore, sport heroes represent the values that justify a nation's existence, and the ideals deemed necessary to belong.

In The Netherlands, the beginning of the 21st century was an important time, next to winning international championships and medals, for the construction and reinforcement of a national identity and the representation of sport heroes played an important role in this process (Lechner, 2007; Geschiere, 2009; Elling et al., 2012). During this period, there was a rising perception that Dutch pride and its national identity was being threatened by “external” influences. The rising influence of the European Union and the globalizing economy were seen as a move away from national (economic) values (Verkaaik, 2010). Furthermore, the increase in immigrants from former colonies like Suriname and “guest worker” countries like Morocco and Turkey became a great deal of concern in public debate. There was, and still is, a growing fear that the influx of “new people” with different cultures and beliefs would make a drastic change to the Dutch identity, resulting in a total erasure of what was considered to be (white) authentic Dutchness (Verkaaik, 2010; Kešić and Duyvendak, 2019). Therefore, there was a desire to “restore” Dutch national heroes in the collective mind to reconstruct the feeling of national pride of white Dutch people and to use these narratives as tools in the assimilation process of the newcomers. This resulted in a demand for the Netherlands to create a Dutch historical “canon”, a depiction consisting of what were considered iconic persons that would be highlighted and mediated for the public to see (Geschiere, 2009). The goal of this canon was to create a succinct depiction of Dutch history; moments in Dutch history were chosen and highlighted as integral parts of the essence of Dutch nationality. This drive to create a national canon was in direct connection with the rising political attention toward the cultural integration of migrants into what was considered traditional Dutch values (Geschiere, 2009; Verkaaik, 2010). To do so, there had to be a succinct idea of what traditional Dutchness meant and what was to be seen as Dutch identity.

In this phase of reimagining identity, next to Pim Mulier (1865–1954) as the founding father of Dutch modern sports, the Dutch football star Johan Cruyff (1947–2016) became one of the most prominent sport heroes to build and reinforce “authentic Dutchness”. Consequently, many sport organizations were named after Pim Mulier (including the Dutch research institute on sport in society) and especially the image of Johan Cruyff was found everywhere. Cruyff was heavily represented in popular media, where he gave opinions about the state of football on television, in the papers and on the radio. Commentators would also constantly compare the current state of Dutch football with the era of Johan Cruyff (Lechner, 2007). Furthermore, his name was solidified in material Dutch culture through statues and stadiums being named after him. Not surprisingly, Johan Cruyff was also a prominent sport hero featured in the Dutch canon. The heroism of Cruyff became a place of remembrance, even for those who were too young to have seen him play (Lechner, 2007). Johan Cruyff represented the inferred uniqueness of being Dutch, reinforcing the boundaries of what and who did and did not belong.

The story of Johan Cruyff in the early 2000s served as what Geschiere (2009, p. 159) calls memory, “an emotional and even spontaneous identification with the past”. This form of memory is characterized as a recollection of the past that is based on the discursive needs of the present (Geschiere, 2009). Narratives of Johan Cruyff as a sport hero were used to create a common memory amongst Dutch people. Lechner (2007) talks about the selective memory that constructs the idea of what Johan Cruyff meant for the construction of Dutchness. It was clear that in the narratives of Cruyff, some elements were proudly highlighted, whilst others were forgotten (Lechner, 2007). Other parts of the Cruyff myth were merely fantastical and did not coincide with reality.

Johan Cruyff symbolized the transition from a form of football that was seen as unrefined towards the era of total football, an “authentically” Dutch creation that revolutionized how Dutch people played this sport. Total football was considered to reflect the Dutch identity as a smart strategic game, that was based on deliberation and decency, ideals that were considered integral to the Dutch identity (Kešić and Duyvendak, 2019; Wekker, 2016). However, Lechner (2007) talks about how the efficacy of total football heavily relied on a ruthless physical attitude towards their opponents. The opponents of the Dutch national team at the time “may have had cause to doubt the ‘deep’ Dutch decency fans … consider a basis for total soccer” (Lechner, 2007, p. 222). On the other hand, things were often left unsaid or forgotten. For example, the military way the team managers led their teams, often contradicting the idea of Dutch deliberation being an inherent part of total football. Or, the influence of foreigners, like the Australian coach Erst Happel, in the creation of this way of football (idem).

Highlighting the constructed nature of these narratives is not meant to dismiss their validity. On the contrary, the constructed nature of the story of Johan Cruyff as a sport hero shows that these stories matter, beyond their authenticity. The narratives of Cruyff functioned as a strong tool in the creation of belonging within the Netherlands (Elling et al., 2012). These narratives also provided a space for national pride, that showcased to Dutch people and to the world (to those outside the boundaries of “Dutchness”) the unique qualities that encompassed “(white, masculine) Dutchness”.

National (sport) ideologies in Western European countries are often connected to hegemonic identities of whiteness, masculine virtues, Christianity and heteronormativity (Elling and Luijt, 2009; Lines, 2001). However, athletes with identities of difference (race, ethnicity, gender) could also function as national sport heroes as long as they win and fit the moral framework of the nation. Nevertheless, simultaneously residing in the dominant discourse that perceived ethnic/racial minorities in The Netherlands as the “other” (Van Lienden and van Sterkenburg, 2022). Thus, their access to herodom was conditional on the usability of the image of the athlete in the (mediated) myth building process (van Campenhout and Van Houtum, 2021). This sentiment was reiterated by Churandy Martina, a Dutch Caribbean sprinter that represented the Dutch team in athletics, as he was reflecting on the next steps in his career whilst healing from an injury. In an interview with a Dutch news reporter, Martina reflects on this conditionality as a standard part of being an Afro-Caribbean athlete representing the Netherlands (Hofman, 2015). Here, he stated that his latest representation in the sports media as “Caribbean/Antillean” (and not as “Dutch”) was due to his lack of success in recent runs, and that he will become Dutch once more when he attains more medals and successes (Hofman, 2015). This expression reflects the casual acknowledgment of the conditionality of sport heroism in Dutch media. Furthermore, the conditionality of Muslim athletes is exemplified with the case of Mezut Özil who played in the German national football team until 2014. His popular quote “I am German when we win, an immigrant when we lose” (van Campenhout and Van Houtum, 2021, p. 1925) reflects his feelings towards the conditional nature of non-white representation of “Germanness”.

This conditionality introduces a requirement of performative belonging for athletes with identities of difference. Therefore, winning or losing is not merely about sport performance but becomes a question of their deservedness to belong, which is inherent to their national identities. Consequently, this conditional belonging is less about the incorporation of an athlete into the Dutch identity and often serves merely as a celebration of the successes of assimilation policies in Dutch society (Elling and Luijt, 2009; van Campenhout and Van Houtum, 2021). This conditional access to national sport hero status for athletes that are othered, emulates the experience of many people with marginalized identities in Europe (Morley and Robins, 1995). These are often people that are gendered, racialized and sexualized. Despite the long presence of people with these identities in Europe, ethnic/racialized difference has not been considered a relative component in the construction of belonging. Racial/ethnic difference implies being a permanent outsider, never being able to be part of the “authentic” white European identity (Essed, 1991).

Understanding the way national sport heroes are constructed, reproduced and challenged provides insight into the dominant narratives of sport heroes in nation building. It showcases how stories of sport heroism are tied to broader societal structures of power and inclusion. However, recent studies have shown that global sport heroes also contribute to these processes of belonging. Previous research on sport heroes among urban youth already confirmed the influence of global sport heroes, also in the Netherlands, with Black American basketball player Michael Jordan being chosen most often as favorite sport hero, among (especially Black) youth from Amsterdam and Tilburg (Elling and Knoppers, 2005). Combinations of traditional sports heroes' qualifications, combined with media depictions and marketing campaigns for many different consumption goods also framed a black man like Michael Jordan as an international sport icon all over the world (Vande Berg, 1998). Nevertheless, these globalized narratives of sport heroes carry different meanings and roles in the European negotiations of belonging. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate global sport hero narratives to try and understand their role in the process of belonging.

Recent years have seen the rise of an analysis of sports heroes as representations of a global influence (Dumitriu, 2018; Anderson et al., 2020). One of the most prevalent causes of this shift from national to global sport hero narratives is the heightened influence of consumerism (Andrews and Silk, 2018; Anderson et al., 2020). Cashmore and Parker (2003) analyzed the case of white English footballer David Beckham and his ascension towards being a global sport hero. Cashmore and Parker argue that the process of belonging itself has become a product, accessed through the consumption of these sport heroes. The narrative of David Beckham as a sport hero is presented as someone who started as a common boy, who grew up to have it all, an amazing career, money, luxury, fame and a wife who fits the fantasy of every man globally (Cashmore and Parker, 2003). This narrative made his life one that every man should dream of having and made him every woman's ultimate desire. All this, including the (flexible) masculinity that Beckham embodied, was attainable to everybody, as long as they were willing to pay for it. Clothing trends, cars, shoes, soft drinks, these were the spaces where the “common Joe” could try to grasp some of the sense of being that Beckham represented. In this framework, sport heroes become less about belonging to a (national) community and into an image of success through consumption.

With the rise in prevalence of social media, the image of sport heroes is perceived to have moved beyond only representing national identity, allowing them to represent ideals and values on a global scale (Sturm and Kobayashi, 2021). Furthermore, as athletes are expanding more and more outside of the sport fields and into fields of acting, entrepreneurship and online influence, the narratives of sport heroism have also expanded with them (Parry, 2009). An example of this is the most followed athlete on Instagram, footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, with over 330 million people on Instagram (Anderson et al., 2020). Anderson et al. showed that the brand of Ronaldo is so strong that his mere presence in the team would grow and sustain Juventus as a club, disregarding the results of the games. The images of these hyper visible sport heroes broaden the perspective of heroism, often shifting the focus away from national identity towards narratives of globalized, therefore seemingly de-territorial, understandings of sport heroism (Toffoletti and Thorpe, 2018). This shift has resulted in new meanings that sport heroes carry and now form an integral part of how global sport heroes are constructed.

Amid this increased influence of globalized sport heroes, questions have risen in the literature about the value of sport heroes as narratives for belonging (Cashmore and Parker, 2003; Finlay and Wenner, 2020; Wenner, 2021). Lines (2001) blames the loss of value in sport hero narratives on the overexposure of sport heroes in the media. She argues that today's celebrity culture has brought with it an audience that has insight into all aspects of an athlete's life. This overexposure allows an audience to also see the aspects that go against the idealized myths that these athletes are meant to represent. Consequently, sport heroes have been reframed as mere celebrities, drained from any moral value other than plain vanity. Billings (2013) discusses how this age of mass media, where everything is seen as spectacle, has resulted in the demise of the heroic and likable image of sport heroes. These authors seem to mourn the loss of sport heroism to consumerism and celebrity (Lines, 2001). They perceive that sport heroes have completely lost their ability to provide insight into the processes of belonging due to the consequences of consumerism and globalized media access.

This development in the literature on sport heroes provides a valuable insight into the effects of capitalism and globalization on the narratives of sport heroes and their development through time. It also points out a grim image of sport heroes today as insights and myths that are deemed desirable to reproduce. Nevertheless, the perspective of global sport heroes lacks a strong consideration of the interconnectedness between the global and the local (Kofman, 2005). Research has shown that globalization does not detach people from their local realities but becomes interconnected to these realities (Anthias, 2002). These narratives, hence (global) sport heroes, remain a part of the stories that people tell about themselves, about the communities they identify with, reside in and the places they live in. Thus, understanding the role of sport heroes in the process of belonging demands a rediscovery of the local, instead of a distancing from it.

In trying to understand these negotiations of belonging in cities, despite the increase in globalized representation of sport heroes, it is clear that the process of belonging is also connected to the local. As sport heroes become more globalized (with all its consequences), boundaries and borders become increasingly prevalent in current day and political discourses. The rise of extreme right-wing politics, anti-migrant sentiments and islamophobia all exemplify the local realities that arise through the reiteration and protection of (national) boundaries (Anthias, 2006). Diversity, that is particularly present in cities, is increasingly seen in dominant discourse as a threat to social cohesion for European nations (Harris et al., 2021). Global sport heroes exist within this context of belonging and exclusion. Contextualizing belonging in Dutch cities is thus recognizing that despite the increase in globalized representation of sport heroes, it is in the local spaces where belonging is experienced and negotiated (Anthias, 2002). Therefore, narratives around sport heroes, whether national or global should still be connected to the experiential process of constructing belonging in (trans) local places/spaces.

The local can and does mean many things, however, in this article we focus on the city, particularly Dutch cities, as a space of locality. Taking the city as a local space of importance, is seeing the uniqueness of cities in producing dynamic spaces for belonging (Peterson, 2017). The city is one of the localized places where many people holding different identities come together and create communities. As these communities within the city share urban spaces, they also influence each other, ultimately molding and transforming them into spaces of sameness (a common urban identity for example) and difference (based on, e.g. ethnic or national difference) (Fincher and Jacobs, 1998). What does it mean to center the city as a separate and unique space where sport hero narratives reside?

A perception of the city as a place of sameness and difference means that we consider it as a place where differences in religious belief, physical ability, sexuality, race, gender and class and their intersections are inherently part of what makes the city what it is. A variety of studies have analyzed the construction of European cities since the industrialization era and have discovered that social differences are a fundamental element that make a city. The city is the place for people from diverse backgrounds and identities to meet and interact (Fincher and Jacobs, 1998). These differences are not merely overarching social phenomena, rather, difference is what makes the city a unique place in comparison to other places in the nation. “The city is conceptualized as an experiential space for processes of differentiation which in turn shape the very nature of this place: ‘differences are constructed in, and themselves construct, city life and spaces’” (Barbehön and Münch, 2016, p. 38).

Within these spaces, the rules of belonging are not solely delineated by citizenship or other key identity markers like race or ethnicity. Instead, communities may be formed with people with different nationalities, languages and religions, who acknowledge each other's differences and make space for it inside their constructed community (Peterson, 2017). Such constructed communities in the city then reflect a transnational experience in the sense that identification with the community goes beyond national identity. Nevertheless, the city is not a neutral meeting ground. The dynamics of the city are inherently connected to systems of power and inequality, which also affect how people find belonging (Fincher and Jacobs, 1998). Within these cities, socio-economic differences also clash and coexist.

Furthermore, these cities are where people with minoritized identities predominantly reside (Gijsberts and Dagevos, 2007). These cities are the epicenter of multiplicity in religion, race, gender, ethnicity and other forms of social identity and form the epicenter for these communities to interact. Nevertheless, despite the vast diversity of identities and experiences that reside in Dutch cities, the stories we tell about who belongs in Dutch society reiterates an imaginary of homogeneity (van Campenhout et al., 2023). Whilst the construction of belonging in Dutch spaces has taken place through years of imperial rule, contemporary narratives about “Dutchness” are absent from this context (Weyers, 2023). Consequently, contemporary constructions of belonging are still founded on ideas of whiteness and Christianity, “… versus the Other’, being black, Muslim, migrant, foreigner” (Wekker, 2016, p. 21). A lack of acknowledgement of difference in the collective Dutch stories reproduces “true Dutchness” as absent of any form of ethnic/racial difference.

Scholars like Hall (2018), Yuval-Davis (2007) and Anthias (2006) have been studying belonging and identity in (other) fields like migration and diaspora studies and have amply discussed the dynamic process of belonging in spaces and with people and communities with diverse (intersectional) identities. According to Anthias (2006, p. 21) “… to belong is to be accepted as part of a community, to feel safe within it and to have a stake in the future of such a community of membership”. Therefore, broadening the understanding of belonging beyond the stratifications of (nation-based) citizenship allows for the dynamic experiences of negotiating belonging to be included; experiences that are for some racialized (Carrington, 1998) or attached to ancestry and remembrance (Ansano, 2022) but that are not captured through the lens of nationalism as the (main) determinant of belonging.

These understandings of belonging provide a solid foundation on which we can see the dynamics of belonging in diverse cities. Hence, we can further develop the role of sport heroes in capturing this process of belonging. Anthias (2006) also argues for the concept of translocational positionality in which she draws a direct line between belonging and community building that moves away from the distinction of fixed and separate groups of identification. Instead, she argues for an understanding of belonging that considers the intersectional aspect of social positioning. People are not merely confined by a singular social identity (e.g. migrant or citizen); their experiences are affected by the multiplicity of identities that they carry. Framing Dutch cities in these concepts allows space for a lens that challenges the dominant narrative that difference does not belong in European identities. Furthermore, creating space to understand what identities in diverse cities can entail.

A conceptual framework that recognizes difference as an integral part of Dutch cities challenges the hegemonic narratives constructed about sport heroes who often reinforce dominant ideologies of othering. Systematic exclusion also comes with elements of questioning, resistance and other forms of power negotiation (Elling and Luijt, 2009; Parry, 2021; Yuval-Davis, 2016). Consequently, alternative forms of belonging become an important element in communities where difference is a present component in people's daily lives. In the city, people have the space to build communities that narrate stories of belonging that are unique to the diversity within which it is built. These are the communities that break the fixed boundaries that are assumed with national sport heroes, and that challenge the de-territorial and a-political framing of global sport heroes. Considering this, how can sport heroes contribute to a better understanding of belonging in diverse spaces like the city?

Urban communities reflect the fluidity, conflict, compromise and negotiation required for belonging to the city. An example of fluidity not captured by national identity are the position of people with Dutch Caribbean identities, who often carry the Dutch citizenship, yet are categorized as “other” in the hegemonic Dutch identity. This identity often carries with it the experience of migration, movement, cultural, ethnic and racialized difference and yet does not require the formalized integration process (inburgeringsproces) of most migrants due to already having Dutch citizenship.

Urban spaces also constitute relevant spaces for identification and feelings of belonging. Müller (2011) has shown how urban spaces allow for blurred boundaries, where belonging may be multi-dimensional and less rigid compared to the dominant idea of national belonging. He discussed these blurred boundaries as he exemplified how some people that might not feel like they belong in the nation still consider themselves part of a city. As one of his participants puts it “… I don't feel Dutch … but I do feel like an Amsterdammer” (Müller, 2011, p. 3415). The “leniency” that characterizes the city – in terms of how it allows for alternative identifications compared to national identity – allows it to be a space for belonging that differs from the nation's conditions.

Consequently, communities that are heavily influenced by exclusionary structures within wider society still try to grasp a sense of belonging within a space that constantly reminds them that they do not belong. Such negotiations especially occur in the city where identity dimensions intersect, and within these negotiations, narratives of sport heroes reside (Mauro, 2025). Therefore, alternative (non-hegemonic) narratives around sport heroes seem to be a valuable resource in the process of belonging in Dutch cities. Sport heroes can serve as totems that bridge individual experiences of exclusion and a localized collective pride (Gilchrist, 2004). Centering localized hero narratives reveals how athletes' stories become vessels for community resilience, allowing city residents to project their identities onto a public stage and negotiate a sense of belonging that challenges hegemonic national narratives.

A localized lens on sport heroes can highlight alternative narratives that are exclusively used by specific localized communities and are completely absent from the dominant discourses (as reproduced in mainstream and social media). Examples are diasporic sport heroes in the context of cricket in the south Asian communities in Berlin (Haque, 2021) or baseball heroes in Caribbean communities in The Netherlands, like Hamilton Richardson (Bant, 2025), a Dutch Caribbean baseball player, who was inaugurated in the Rotterdam Walk of fame as a local and (inter)national baseball hero. Secondly, national sport heroes become new stories once localized, allowing for meanings that connect these heroes to the specific social realities that drive the process of belonging for urban residents. Take for instance the narrative of Enith Brigitha that we referred to in the beginning of this article. Despite her story being categorized as a “forgotten hero” in Dutch popular discourse, the local community of Almere (re)claims her as a story of resilience and celebrates her identity as a representative of black excellence in Dutch sport history. Lastly, narratives of sport heroes in the city can provide insight into what happens with global sport heroes once they are localized, therefore allowing some more complexity in their role in the negotiation of belonging. Take for example the role of the representations of Serena and Venus Williams on social media. Gathering local stories can provide insight into how their “aesthetic of resistance” (Toffoletti and Thorpe, 2018, p. 310) participates in the personal and localized negotiations of belonging for young black girls whilst excluded in the city.

Gathering local stories requires adopting new methodological approaches that prioritize the (collective) memories and stories of residents in diverse cities. Thus, centering the meaning making practices of local communities is a crucial step to capture how heroism is actively produced (Hall, 1980; Guadeloupe, 2023; Joseph, 2014). A localized lens can showcase how narratives help individuals position themselves within larger societal structures and negotiate their place in society (Higgins and Sandhu, 2015). Storytelling then becomes a vital tool for understanding what diasporic sport heroes mean to ethnicized/racialized youth who often seek more localized connections (Elling et al. 2025). Methodological frameworks like Donna Haraway's storying otherwise, which prioritize local, partial and diverse perspectives, give a framework to capturing alternative stories that people tell about who they are and where they belong (Haraway, 2019; Terranova, 2016). Furthermore, Willemse's (2014) focus on the co-creation of meaning between teller and listener to provide researchers tools to capture localized perspectives as an invaluable aspect in the construction of sport heroism. This shift in focus requires researchers to engage deeply with the cultural diversity of the city, ultimately opening a space for the personal stories about sport heroism that these communities carry to be centered in the localized negotiations of belonging.

Sport hero narratives function as modern mythologies, carrying ideas of heroes and villains that represent collective identity (Lines, 2001; Reid, 2017). Literature has shown how sport heroes play an important role in the reinforcement of hegemonic (national, ethnic majority) identity (Crepeau, 1981; Dumitriu, 2018; Guinness and Besnier, 2016; Parry, 2021). Still, practices of belonging are not just performed within the paradigm of hegemonic discourse but also in non-hegemonic spaces (Ansano, 2022; Yuval-Davis, 2016). Communities that are often inherently seen as foreign find spaces and moments where their belonging is not merely a practice of assimilation to the hegemonic discourse. Places that could be called hidden spaces, informal spaces, spaces of escape, comfort and familiarity, are spaces where people can feel at home beyond the hegemonic, especially in cities with diverse communities (Camelia, forthcoming). This proceeds through narratives that are connected to both the local and the global, therefore anchoring people to their multiple connections to those around them (in which sport heroes can play an important role (Besson, 2005).

While sport heroes have often been analyzed through the lens of national and global constructions, this perspective is often limited to hegemonic narratives. Sport hero narratives extend beyond this lens; they are also stories carried in the memories of local individuals and communities who use sport heroism as narratives that negotiate belonging (Gilchrist, 2004). Moving beyond national and global narratives towards localized storytelling practices can showcase how urban communities use these stories in their connection with the city. Utilizing methodologies that capture how sport heroism is told within diverse cities can reflect a more dynamic understanding of the sport hero. This approach can showcase how sport heroes are active sites of negotiation where the borders of identity and belonging are constantly being negotiated.

We would like to thank our colleagues at the Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC) for their support throughout this project. Particular thanks go to my colleagues in room 8.15 — Palesa, Carmen, Arne, Zhen, and Mariana — for the conversations, and camaraderie that made this work possible.