【Canada】

They're purportedly a secret society alleged to have Canadaa shadowy hand in the world's most important issues and decisions.

They're also a fourth-grade baseball team from Illinois.

They are ... The Illuminati, and they just turned a double play by leveraging 15 minutes of viral fame into a wholesome fundraiser.

Better yet, this is all because the people demanded it. And you knowThe Illuminati couldn't let the people down.

SEE ALSO: Of course LaVar Ball finally said something offensive

When the members of an under-10 travel baseball team in Illinois were allowed to choose their own name earlier this spring, the players' parents didn't give it much thought. Until the team landed on its name: The Illuminati.

Kevin Guilfoile, whose son plays for the team, was tickled by the kids' choice. So Guilfoile did what people often do in 2017 when they encounter something whimsical and/or delightful -- he got online to show off the team's uniforms, which include triangle-themed patches with the words "Trust No One."

Guilfoile has a few thousand Twitter followers. But within hours -- thanks largely to internet users' (mostly) tongue-in-cheek obsession with secret Illuminati machinations -- his tweet showing son Vaughn modeling the new unis was a bonafide viral sensation.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

Tens of thousands of retweets and more than 100,000 favorites were surprising enough. So were write-ups by BuzzFeedand SB Nation, among others, as well as local news interviews with the team's young players.

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

"They were really excited," Guilfoile says of the kids.

But his post also kept on receiving the same response.

"I started getting hundreds of replies from people saying, 'If you made these in adult sizes, I'd buy one in a heartbeat,'" Guilfoile says.

The Guilfoile family may not be actual Illuminati, but baseball stories do run in their blood. Kevin's father -- Vaughn's grandfather -- was an executive in public relations for the New York Mets and Pittsburgh Pirates before going on to work as vice president for the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kevin is a successful novelist whose past career was in baseball media relations.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

After so many adults asked about Illuminati merchandise, Kevin Guilfoile approached the team's coaches about taking advantage of the viral story. They set up a page on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe, where fans can "donate" certain amounts for T-shirts, caps, hoodies and jerseys.

Where the team name comes from, meanwhile, might not be quite as mysterious as it appears. Many of the fourth-grade ballplayers are also fans of the animated Disney television series Gravity Falls, which frequently features Illuminati imagery.

"I think that's probably where most of their awareness of the [actual] Illuminati comes from," Guilfoile says.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

While the fourth-grade Illuminati team's moment of viral fame may have been brief, it will help the players a year from now.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will cover equipment and operations costs for the travel team next season, and extra money will go toward the local Little League whose facilities the Illuminati use. So far the campaign has raised about $4,800; next year's team budget hasn't been set.

As for those who've already placed orders for Illuminati gear, the first batch of merchandise is currently being processed for shipment, according to Guilfoile. And it's not too late to get your own merch.

"As long as there's interest," he says, "we'll keep turning orders around."

---

Featured Video For You

---

The best plot points in movie history

---

• Social Good
• Deals
• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Digital Culture
• Science
• Games
• Tech

• Best Amazon deal: Save 20% on floral and botanical Lego sets
• 'Primo' review: The best new sitcom of 2023, hands down
• 'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for June 1
• In Which Richard Burton Discusses Poetry by Sadie Stein
• Will Oracle take over TikTok? Trump says he'll make a decision in 30 days
• TikTok unveils its first
• When Are You Gonna Get Over This: An Interview with Jim Shepard by Tim Small
• AI fraud warning: Voice clones are turbocharging scams, FTC Chair warns
• Best Amazon deal: Save 20% on floral and botanical Lego sets
• Mimes, Tattoos, and Whales by Sadie Stein

• The Haunting; Or, the Ghost of Ty Cobb by Sadie Stein
• The Flanders Duck by Cody Upton
• Mimes, Tattoos, and Whales by Sadie Stein
• Shades of Red: On Indian Summer by Maria Konnikova
• Poetic Prescriptions, Banished Words by Sadie Stein
• Introducing the Paris Review App! by The Paris Review
• Finnegans Wake: An Illustrated Panorama by Jason Novak
• As Long As It Was Deep by The Paris Review
• Drink the Water by Alia Akkam
• In Which Richard Burton Discusses Poetry by Sadie Stein

• NYT Connections Sports Edition hints and answers for February 15: Tips to solve Connections #145
• What We’re Loving: Angry Generals, Contemptuous Gumshoes by The Paris Review
• Family Fortunes by Kate Levin
• The Mo Yan Culture Experience Zone, and Other News by Sadie Stein
• Assassin's Creed Origins: How Heavy is It on Your CPU?
• Wild Cats and Meadowlarks: Creating in L.A. by Alex Moore
• Boo! And Other Ways to Scare Kids by Sadie Stein
• The Long and Short of It by Sadie Stein
• We'll always, er, sorta, have the Paris Climate Agreement
• Comedian hilariously imitates the fly on Mike Pence's head

• Super Bowl LIX livestream: Watch Eagles vs Chiefs on Tubi
• MacBook Air at WWDC 2023: What to expect from Apple
• When Are You Gonna Get Over This: An Interview with Jim Shepard by Tim Small
• Instagram attempts to explain 'shadowbanning', but creators still aren't happy
• Apple's newest ad makes a haunting plea to take climate change seriously
• In Search of Lost Time by Anna Wiener
• Prankster owns Alex Jones with ridiculous pitch for Infowars mascot
• A fly landed on Mike Pence's head during the debate and it stayed there for 2 minutes
• The Portable Workstation: Dell XPS 13 + 32 UltraSharp 4K Monitor
• Why you can orgasm from masturbation but struggle to come during sex