Small-Scale Sport Events and Local Community Perceptions

Introduction To Events And Event Tourism

The sociological knowledge historically overlooked the importance of sports to enhance the collective legitimacy of the status quo for the society to keep united. In some respect, the founding parents of sociology thought in the anomie and the social ties as the main forces of society. Leisure and play received marginal attention within the constellations of social science. One of the pioneering voices in focusing his attention on this matter was Alfred Weber. From Weber onwards, who primarily focused on leisure as a social force that revitalizes the psychological frustrations, some scholars interrogated furtherly on the role of sports in society (Aitchison 1999). In a landmark book, which is entitled Quest for Excitement: sports and leisure in the civilizing process, Eric Dunning & Norbert Elias (1986) not only continued Alfred´s efforts to place “play” in the foreground but explained brilliantly how the civilizing process needs from the alternation of moment of war and conflict with peace-time. The social imaginary believes strongly that warfare is a social malady resulted from dictatorship and the political intolerance. Dunning and Elias amply show how peace and war are inextricably intertwined. Like wars which often mobilize efforts and resources against an external enemy, sports are emotionally based on the needs of confronting with an external ‘Otherness’. Hence, the state of conflict revives and transforms social frustration in a deep-seated sentiment of nationalism while social cohesion is enhanced.