Social Control
Social control is the means and processes by which a social group secures its members conformity to the expectations, values, ideology and norms of the group. The aim of social control is to control the members of a social group, therefore reducing deviance, and maintaining social order. Social control can be divided into two broad types by the means to achieve it: ideological control and direct intervention. The former aims at control through manipulation of ideas and perceptions; the latter controls the actual behaviour of individuals (Eitzen & Baca Zinn, 1995:170-90). Social control is never perfect. Attempts to install order and control within a social group are often met with non-compliance, resistance or outright rebellion (Walton, 1990:343-61) Sport is a major factor in maintaining social control and has been used in many different ways throughout history. Sport as social control, whether applied to juvenile delinquents or the temporary or permanently disadvantaged masses, can be a tool to maintain compliance and keep the peace. Sport can be used as a "social pain killer" to take peoples minds off their depressing situations and to keep disadvantaged people from becoming disruptive about their social problems. Sport also has been widely acknowledged as a way to gain political control over people. ... Firstly when people are taken in by the euphoria surrounding a successful national sports team, at whatever sport it may be, their minds are removed from the social issues and problems which would otherwise concern them. ... For example the Olympics in 1936 were held in Nazi Germany and were used by Hitler to legitimatise Nazi culture and to strengthen his control over the German people. The German government harnessed sport as part of its drive to strengthen the "Aryan race", to exercise political control over its citizens, and to prepare German youth for war (http://www. ... This method of social control was successful because the Olympics and the festivals that accompanied them reinforced and mobilized the hysterical patriotism of the German masses (Mandell, 1971) it also allowed Hitler and his supporters to proclaim Nazi culture a success due to their good showing in the Olympics.