A little-known World Cup player has suddenly become a social media phenomenon, gaining millions of followers in just a few days.
The unlikely rise centers on New Zealand defender Tim Payne, 32, whose life was dramatically upended by an unusual campaign launched by Argentine content creator Valen Scarsini.
Scarsini, better known online as ‘El Scarso’, set himself a strange challenge during the 48-team tournament being staged across the United States, Mexico and Canada: identify a player who was largely overlooked and virtually unknown to the wider football public.
From there, his goal was simple — to test how far he could push a viral movement aimed at turning that player into a household name.
Although Scarsini already commands 1.2 million followers on Instagram, Payne has now far surpassed him. The experiment began just two weeks ago, and Payne’s account has since rocketed to 5.6 million followers. To put that into perspective, New Zealand’s population stands at roughly 5.3 million.
The frenzy has even inspired extreme displays of support. Argentine DJ Juanka Cassane, for instance, had Payne’s face tattooed on his leg — perhaps the wildest tribute yet to emerge from the craze.
Payne and his wife Michelle Peters have seen their lives suddenly become of massive interest to a South American audience ahead of the All Whites’ campaign.
Tim Payne’s follower count has exploded after he unwittingly became part of a social media experiment conducted by an Argentine influencer
Payne and his wife Michelle Peters (above) have enjoyed the newfound fame
It all began when Scarsini asked: ‘What would happen if there was a player who united us all, a footballer we all supported regardless of nationality?’
Payne ended up being his pick because the Wellington Phoenix centre-back only had 5000 followers on Instagram.
He won a Club World Cup bronze medal with Auckland City in 2014 and has previously been confused with former Australian cricketer Tim Paine.
He won’t have that issue any more after Scarsini’s call to arms worked a treat.
Suddenly Payne noticed his phone going completely mad with notifications as his follower count exploded.
He was obviously baffled as to why before finding out that Scarsini was the mastermind behind it.
The newfound fan community even created a song called ‘No Payne, No Gain’ that gained traction online.
Payne’s wife, who is a wedding photographer of Costa Rican descent, sung along in Spanish in an Instagram video of her own and thanked the new fans for their support.
She said: ‘You are geniuses, I haven’t stopped singing it and laughing at all the comments.
‘Tim will never understand Latin American humor, but that’s what he has me for.
‘Thank you for adopting him Latam and giving him so much love. Please take good care of him.’
The comments under the song take on the mission to hype up Payne, with one user posting: ‘My mom gave me life, but Tim Payne gave me the motivation to live it.’
Earlier this week, Scarsini and Payne finally came face to face when the Argentine attended his World Cup warm-up game against Haiti.
A DJ in Argentina even had Payne’s face tattooed on his lower leg
Peters said she loved the song fans made up about her other half called ‘No Payne, No Gain’
The All Whites lost 4-0 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday night but the mood was lifted the following morning when they met in a hotel in Boca Raton.
‘My friend, how are you?’, Scarsini shouted as he saw Payne.
‘I’m good, bro, yourself? Lovely to meet you, como estas?’ the Kiwi replied.
He then added: ‘I didn’t know what to feel, you know, because it’s (the attention) so foreign to me.
‘I’m still processing, but it’s amazing. And I appreciate you doing it for me, you know?’
Payne then went on to say how delighted he is with the boost to not only his own profile but also the awareness of the All Whites, who will now have a few more fans in the US.
‘It’s obviously good for myself and New Zealand football, too,’ he went on.
‘It puts a light on us, which is a positive thing, but at the same time, for me, I don’t change. I’m still the person I am. I just keep trying to do what I do, which is play football and trying to perform for my country.’
Payne gave Scarsini a signed No 2 shirt and the duo posed for a couple of photos, with the whole interaction captured for social media.
The All Whites released a DVD entitled ‘Undefeated’ after the 2010 World Cup – a tongue-in-cheek reference to their impressive campaign in which they drew every group game.
They followed 1-1 draws with Slovakia and Italy with a 0-0 against Paraguay but it wasn’t enough to progress.
Now Payne has added himself to the lore of New Zealand at the World Cup, with his bizarre and heartwarming elevation to public consciousness dominating the pre-tournament headlines back home.
The Kiwis play Iran in their first Group G game on June 15 in California before facing Belgium and Egypt.
It is the third World Cup in their history following the 1982 and 2010 editions but they are yet to win a match.
Millions more fans will now be rooting for Payne and Co to go down in history and break that duck.
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