The purpose of this study is to analyze the context and pattern in which this concept was used in order to analyze the use of the concept of ‘unpopular events’ that have been used as common sense in the sports world, and to propose criteria for di...
The purpose of this study is to analyze the context and pattern in which this concept was used in order to analyze the use of the concept of ‘unpopular events’ that have been used as common sense in the sports world, and to propose criteria for discriminating against unpopular sports among existing sports events based on this. To this end, research results (21 articles) mentioning ‘unpopular events’ in sports-related academic journals and articles (20 articles) reported in major daily newspapers and Internet newspapers were critically reviewed. As a result, first, it was found that unpopular events were 1) lacking a concept definition, 2) mixing the selection criteria, and 3) being abused depending on the context of the situation. Second, three criteria for comparing the popularity of sports events were derived, focusing on the categorization of the context of unpopular events during the analysis process of the first research result. In conclusion, it is suggested that the concept of an unpopular event that is used very frequently in the sports world is a kind of ‘political coined’ that is used with the intention of securing resources that are insufficient for a specific situation, especially for them, without clear standards. In response, the researchers suggest that sports sociology should focus on clarifying “common sense packaged concepts” that are used without consensus on clear standards, although they assume that political jargon or everyone will know in the future.