A curious thing happened at a soccer match in the town of Barnsley, England, on Tuesday night.

You know it’s gotta be a little crazy if a sports reporter in Alabama is writing about it. It is.

Late in the game between Barnsley and Birmingham City FC, fans for the away team began hurling insults at the American soccer team Memphis 901 FC.

Why they did is extraordinary, and a reminder of just how small and connected this world really is in the age of social media. There is a lot of dirt on the socials, and out of the muck some strange stuff has been known to grow.

This qualifies as a mutant flower none of us have ever seen.

Supporters of Birmingham City FC were shouting about Memphis on behalf of their new favorite club in the U.S., Birmingham Legion FC. As any college football fan in Alabama can understand, proper support of one’s team means insulting your chief rival every chance you get.

Strange as it sounds, there is now a growing number of Birmingham Legion FC supporters in Birmingham, England, based on events that occurred on social media after Legion FC’s narrow defeat to Atlanta United last Saturday.

“It is a unique and very organic phenomenon,” Birmingham Legion FC president Jay Heaps said. “Our fans, players and the entire club are excited to see how this can continue to grow. There is also a good deal of history between the ‘sister’ cities and this is another great connection.”

Let’s be absolutely clear. This doesn’t make a lick of sense. Like, none. But then that’s what makes it all the more beautiful.

It was an accidental grassroots movement on Twitter that recently brought together fans of the historic and proud club Birmingham City FC, and an American club in Alabama still in its infancy, Birmingham Legion FC. A funny video posted to Twitter started the relationship, and then it rapidly evolved from there. It’s now a likable and quirky international oddity.

Fans of both teams are supporting each other, and the clubs have acknowledged the relationships as well. Thousands of fans from England have started following Birmingham Legion FC on Twitter, and Legion FC players have started giving jerseys away to their new fans across the pond. People from all over the U.S. have fallen in love with the story, and other teams are already trying to recreate the spontaneous magic.

Good luck finding that pixie dust. At this point, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the two clubs come together for a friendly. Would this qualify as an international derby? The idea doesn’t seem so farfetched and ridiculous anymore.

The ethereal absurdity of sports filled the air in Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium on Tuesday night with Birmingham City FC up 1-0 late in the match. That’s when Birmingham City FC fans began celebrating their new relationship with Birmingham Legion FC. What a hardy bunch, too. It reportedly hailed and rained during the game.

“S*** on the Memphis,” they shouted, which is a derivative of a more common refrain by fans of Birmingham City FC, “S*** on The Villa.”

The clever and hard-working Brummies across the pond really know how to stoke the flames of a passionate rivalry. Birmingham City FC’s crosstown rival is the club Aston Villa FC.

After the match fans in Birmingham celebrated the victory on Twitter with nods to Alabama.

“Gonna stick some Hank Williams on and gnaw on some brisket. Up the ******* blues, unbeaten in 9 games,” wrote one fan on Twitter.

About that brisket...

There is some important information new Birmingham Legion FC fans overseas should know before this thing moves forward. Hank Williams is great, of course, but brisket is from Texas. Alabama is known for its smoked pulled pork and ribs. Hence, The Ham.

Alabama BBQ is served with sweet-heat vinegar-based sauce, and sometimes white sauce in north Alabama and Birmingham. I bring all of this up for a very important reason. This next bit is important, and it might get contentious real fast because BBQ and food are serious things in the South.

Memphis has dry-rub ribs and they’re complete rubbish. That’s right. Feel free to #SOTM ribs all you want. Birmingham Legion FC’s supporter group, the Magic City Brigade, even sings a song during games making fun of Memphis dry-rub ribs. Oh, and Birmingham as a town is a far superior culinary gem to Memphis these days. (This isn’t debatable.)

With that bit of education, #KeepRightOn and #HammerDown with soccer’s most unexpected union.

SOME NOTES: Birmingham Legion FC has partnered with Birmingham-based construction firm Harbert International for the company’s Respect Tour, and is traveling to Guatemala to play Antigua GFC at 12:45 p.m. on Feb. 27. Harbert International is building a U.S. embassy in Guatemala City. Several executives from Harbert, including chairman and CEO Billy Harbert, are now listed as part of Legion FC’s ownership group.

Joseph Goodman is a columnist for the Alabama Media Group. He’s on Twitter @JoeGoodmanJr.