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

Purpose The goal of this article is to introduce a conceptual fundament on which alternative narratives of sport heroes can be accessed and analyzed as tools that capture the negotiation of belonging in the city. Design/methodology/approach The article takes a critical approach that considers sport heroes as narratives belonging by highlighting the role of hegemonic narratives in the space of national and global sport hero narratives, whilst also raising questions about the role of alternative narratives in this space. Findings This article is a conceptual paper that highlights the role of locality and space as fundamental elements in the creation of sport hero narratives as they relate to belonging. Originality/value This article moves away from the understanding of belonging as national in the discussion around sport heroes and considers the reality that if belonging is a universal process, those who are deemed as the “other” in a nation state also create stories through which the negotiate their belonging. This results in centering cities of difference as an integral space for the collection of stories about sport heroism.