<\/p>\n
The internet has spawned an innumerable number of viral sensations.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have to look beyond the unlikely rise of New Zealand right-back Tim Payne to see the power of social media.<\/p>\n
The Wellington Phoenix defender was picked by influencer \u2018El Scarso\u2019 as the man Argentina would rally behind during the World Cup as the \u201cleast-known player\u201d with under 5,000 followers.<\/p>\n
Tszyu v Spence Jr. | Sunday July 26 from 11am AEST | Tim Tszyu takes on the biggest name in his career so far – future hall-of-famer Errol Spence Jr, in a can\u2019t miss event for boxing fans around the world. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports<\/a>.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n He now has 5.7 million \u2014 a staggering number.<\/p>\n So can a glorified Sunday league team based in the foot of the Blue Mountains follow in his footsteps and become a social media sensation?<\/p>\n Well, spoiler alert \u2013 they already have, with the reach of the Blaxland Redbacks\u2019 division two side, made famous by Harry Falchi and Sporting Club Helos, stretching global.<\/p>\n \u201cWithin football, naturally it comes from the streets and the streets love an underdog, so when we get Tim Payne, someone who I can\u2019t remember a highlight but I can\u2019t remember a notable lowlight. The way it was positioned, it was an underdog story, we have Tim Payne, this seemingly regular guy who\u2019s playing football at the World Cup. People could find a relation to that,\u201d Falchi said to foxsports.com.au.<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cIt was something so positive to get behind\u2026 even if Tim played bad, people would still say \u2018no, that\u2019s my GOAT\u2019. People would still get behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n All of this is to say there\u2019s some parallels between Payne and SC Helos\u2019 stories.<\/p>\n Olise escapes red after HORROR tackle | 00:21<\/p>\n The man affectionately known as \u2018Falcon\u2019 was recently sitting on a park bench in London, and what came next left him stunned.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like 8am on a Wednesday morning, some guy walks past me, and then he comes back,\u201d Falchi said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe walks back and he goes \u2018you do the Sunday league stuff in Australia\u2019. That\u2019s insane.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s mind-blowing a random person on the other side of the world spot \u2018Falcon\u2019, yes. But when you consider the staggering reach of his football presence, it makes sense.<\/p>\n The mountains local has been building a cult following since 2023, filming his team\u2019s antics in the Nepean District competition.<\/p>\n The Redbacks, and specifically Falchi\u2019s team, are comfortably the most-watched non-professional team in the country.<\/p>\n Many of those views came on a video of his own 40-yard screamer, which he got the chance to show to Socceroos legend Harry Kewell.<\/p>\n \u201dI play Sunday league in Penrith, division two. I want to show you a goal I scored, or maybe two, actually maybe a third,\u201d Falchi said.<\/p>\n As the first clip played, the build-up to a screamer on the now-famous St Johns Oval, Kewell delivered a shock.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I\u2019ve seen this… wow,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Then the Socceroos legend dished out some high praise, especially when you consider just how lethal he was with 57 Premier League goals and 17 for his country.<\/p>\n \u201cMate that is textbook… that is me to a tee,\u201d Kewell said after watching the vision, again.<\/p>\n Then following a goal from the kick-off and a weak-foot goal, Falchi delivered a vivid description of himself as a player.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m called the fat Pirlo, five-star weak foot. I\u2019m half Italian as well,\u201d he said before inviting the former Liverpool and Galatasary star to the Redbacks\u2019 home turf.<\/p>\n \u201cBlaxland Maccas, 500 metres to your left, I will see you there,\u201d Falchi added.<\/p>\n Football and virality going hand-in-hand.<\/p>\n \u201cTo have someone in London, on their way to work, in the high-vis get-up, to notice me in such a casual environment, it hit me there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like f*** this reaches way further than I thought. Even Harry Kewell the other day when I showed him my highlights, and he goes \u2018I think I have seen this\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n But when you take a look at the numbers, it\u2019d be surprising for a man like Kewell, who we can only imagine has an algorithm filled with football content, to have not seen it.<\/p>\n A quick look at the Sporting Club Helos TikTok account shows multiple videos with north of a million views.<\/p>\n Across Tiktok, Instagram and YouTube (not counting Facebook) Sporting Club Helos are around the 15th most-followed football groups.<\/p>\n \u201cEssentially you have 13 A-League clubs, you have Auckland City who play in the FIFA World Cup, then you have South Melbourne,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe sit with them at over 50,000 followers across the three platforms. We sit in a healthy spot\u2026 but I think one of the things that people underestimate about us it that everything\u2019s original.<\/p>\n READ MORE<\/b><\/p>\n \ufeff\u2018Spooked\u2019: Favourite OUT of WC in emotional scenes as vanishing act sets up final thriller<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \ufeff\u2018Loaded question…\u2019: France coach takes aim at ref as salty favourites point finger over World Cup fail<\/a><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n