GWS scarves handed out on special Virgin flight to Melbourne

A key detail in a viral GWS video has sent the football world into a frenzy ahead of a blockbuster preliminary final with Collingwood.

GWS leave scarves for passengers on a special Virgin flight from Sydney to Melbourne.

The big, big sound from the West of the town is arresting everyone in sight, and sweeping the AFL world off its feet.

Passengers on Virgin Australia flight VA846 on Thursday afternoon headed from Sydney to Melbourne were treated to a surprise gift, courtesy of a combined effort from the GWS Giants, AFL partner airline Virgin Australia, and a reported Carlton tragic for a pilot.

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Giants scarves were left on every seat for passengers, and the effort was reportedly a hit.

News Corp’s Lachlan McKirdy tweeted that only three scarves were left behind on the entire flight, with even the flight’s Carlton fans wearing the orange team’s merchandise through the baggage carousel.

McKirdy, an AFL reporter specialising in NSW, said it showed “the Giants’ bandwagon is inevitable”.

It is understood that approximately 90 scarves were handed out, and the flight was not kept as a charter for the Giants travelling party, which news.com.au understands totals around 60.

A number of responses to the merchandise on social media questioned the visible references to 2010 on the scarves, with a number mistakenly thinking that the organisers of the stunt had skimped out by using old merchandise.

GWS leave scarves for passengers on a special Virgin flight from Sydney to Melbourne. Photo: Lachlan McKirdy, Twitter

In actuality, some Giants merchandise makes reference to the year 2010 establishment year of the club, when a team representing the club played their first games in the Under-18s TAC Cup and much of the staff began ahead of the club’s entry into the AFL in 2012.

It comes as the country hops on the Giants’ bandwagon, willing the battling expansion team onto victory against the might of the minor premiers in Collingwood.

The nation has rallied around the Giants’ social media team, with a wave of memes sending the internet into a frenzy over the course of the week after their semi-final win over Port Adelaide.

Immediately ready for the final siren, the Giants posted a clip from the 1997 comedy hit “Bean”, showing Rowan Atkinson’s iconic character taking his rightful place in first class – or as it was labelled by Giants social land content lead Jacob Gaynor’s team, a preliminary final.

Gaynor’s team also cheekily referenced the now-infamous snake that made its way into the forward pocket at Blacktown International Sportspark during the afternoon, delaying the GWS-Richmond AFLW fixture by around half an hour.

GWS fans loved their scarves. Photo: Lachlan McKirdy, Twitter

“Not again,” the Giants tweeted with a picture of an orange snake lolly on the playing surface at Adelaide Oval.

The Giants’ cult hit team song Big Big Sound, considered by many to be the best song in Australian sport, has also served as the basis for a number of memes.

Family Guy and Simpsons references were in plentiful supply on social media, and an interview with composer of the tune Harry Angus, formerly of jazz-funk band The Cat Empire, recirculated courtesy of comedian Josh Garlepp.

Angus, in the interview, claims that he receives around $100 in royalties every time the Giants win.

The Giants have played Collingwood 14 times in the course of their history, winning six and losing eight.

While the Pies have a losing record against GWS in their last five games, they ran out 65-point winners in round nine of this season, last time the two sides met.

Originally published as GWS scarves handed out on special Virgin flight to Melbourne