THE value and meaning of the Soweto derby are often confused with the results of the matches.

This is not my original view. It was planted in my head by a former executive editor of this esteemed newspaper, who now runs a small regional paper somewhere in KwaZulu-Natal.

In spite of being stuck in no man's land, this newspaperman and friend still has very interesting views on football in South Africa. But I digress.

If you read the weekend newspapers and listened to sporting talk shows at the beginning of the week, only one topic dominated people's thoughts: the derby has lost its spark.

This is such a load of dust. The rivalry between Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs at football level is the same as any rivalry between any other two clubs here or anywhere in the world.

Where the bitterness comes in is not on the field of play, though even generations of players of the two clubs have been trained to know that there are important games and there is the derby. And they dare not lose on that day.

The true and mean rivalry between Pirates and Chiefs is the one owned and sustained by fans for the past 40 years. Frankly, Pirates fans were aggrieved that one of their beloved sons left the club to start Chiefs back in 1969.

For that they never forgave Kaizer Motaung and they have hated Chiefs' guts ever since.

Such is the hatred that Pirates fans tend to love any team that plays against their bitter rivals. Chiefs' fans have not shied away from returning the favour either.

In the early days, the 1970s, this fierce rivalry sometimes took an ugly and violent turn. Many people still carry physical scars of wearing the wrong colours or being found on the wrong side of the railway line - literally.

When I experienced my first derby in the late 1970s, I remember it was unpleasant for Chiefs fans to come into Orlando Stadium because their only passage was via the Pirates stands.

They would be booed, heckled and sometimes pelted with all sorts of things from eggs, apples and sometimes beer bottles. And if Chiefs won the match, they would be begrudged their victory and almost refused the right to celebrate.

The problem now is that we have a lot of people who have experienced the derby only through the media and are now the experts who mouth nonsense such as 'the derby has lost its spark'.

A walk past taxi ranks, train and bus stations, gyms and shebeens will reveal how the rivalry among fans has never been more alive. Even though enmity is no longer violent or physical, there is still no love lost between the fans.

As for the results on the pitch, history will show that Chiefs have had the better of Pirates over the years. Only in the past decade or so have the scales balanced in Pirates' favour.

But even then, the scorelines in these matches have been less significant than the meaning of the derby to the true die-hards who know the true history of these clubs.

I personally do not remember too many high-scoring results in the past 30 years.

But I sure do remember how on Mondays back at school friendships would be lost or regained on the basis of the derby. I remember how neighbours were unwelcome into homes because of their colours.

So next time newspaper analysts want to assess the derby, I ask them to speak to the fans to find out the real truth.