There are sporting contests so special that the faithful plan months, even years, ahead for the next instalment of their favourite event.
The World Cup is one such occasion, cricket’s Ashes series is another.
In South Africa, the Soweto Derby features high among these events. At least it does most of the time.
The Soweto Derby ought to be like the caviar of the local football menu, but with Orlando Pirates meeting Kaizer Chiefs within six weeks of their last encounter, the fixture is turning to marmalade.
It was never meant to be like this. This weekend’s match threatens to depose the Mamelodi Sundowns-Supersport United fixture as the biggest non-derby in the land.
Uncharacteristically for a game of this magnitude, the streets are eerily quiet. It is not the Premier Soccer League’s fault, though.
With the African Cup of Nations set to dominate the early part of next year’s soccer calendar, the PSL wanted to serve the best its menu had to offer before the Egyptian fare.
Thankfully, matters have not reached the state that has Pakistani cricket chief Shahriyar Khan worried that one of the sporting world’s greatest duels, Pakistan versus India, is facing overkill. The arch-foes have played each other 21 times since March last year.
And how Chiefs must wish that they did not have to play now. The official Chiefs website records that just under half the respondents in a poll believe the club will finish outside of the top half of the log at the end of the season.
What the club’s players and fans are thus forced to hold on to is what has become a truism: form counts for nothing in a derby.
When the two last met in October, Chiefs had not won a match in six weeks, with the September 14 victory over Golden Arrows being the last time they had collected maximum points.
Pirates had been on song, their loss the previous weekend notwithstanding.
In defiance of the formbook, Chiefs scored an emphatic 2-0 win. It was an aberration in a season characterised by draws and lacklustre performances by the glamour club.
They did not win again until this week, when they beat Free State Stars 5-2 at the same FNB stadium where they meet Pirates.
This poor run confirmed the generally held view that the derby is a totally different ball game.
Chiefs have played 10 draws in 16 matches. On the credit side, they have lost only once and, despite their own supporters’ pessimism, they are fourth in the standings.
As with the Pirates match, the victory over Stars came six weeks after their last.
Chiefs fans should hope they don’t have to wait another month and half for their next victory.
Then there is the curse of the number 11 jersey. As was the case with its previous bearer, Jabu Pule, the incumbent, Emmanuel ”Scara” Ngobese, has bunked a couple of training sessions and is in trouble with management.
For Pirates, having bitterly learnt not to get too cocky before a derby, one can expect a more adult performance from their young side.
The Buccaneers were businesslike on Wednesday as they disposed of Bloemfontein Celtic.
For the second game in a row they scored two without conceding, something that suggests that the club’s twin evils this season, a leaky defence and a goal-shy strike-force, may have been exorcised.
Perhaps the victories over Free State opposition give some hope for what must be one of the least-anticipated derbies in a long time.