The Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions will play Sunday night in Detroit in a game that has major playoff stakes. It will decide the NFC North champion and the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs. On top of that, the game is also expected to feature some fun post-play celebrations.
Both teams have regularly planned and performed creative celebrations, often paying tribute to 1990s and early 2000s movies, viral social media dance trends, and popular moments from pop culture. These celebrations have caught the attention of more than just football fans, with celebrities like Usher and Lindsay Lohan showing their appreciation for the team’s creativity.
The NFL’s growing connection with pop culture expanded in 2024, especially after Swifties followed Taylor Swift’s relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
“The fact that the non-football world is connecting with football now, just because of the fun things we’re doing, that’s just so cool,” Vikings safety and celebration leader Camryn Bynum told ESPN.
While the league has been quick to highlight the Vikings’ fun celebrations on social media, it has also enforced rules against certain celebrations and taunting.
For example, Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson was penalized for his signature Griddy dance after a touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 16 because he stared at cornerback Devon Witherspoon while doing it. Jefferson was also fined $13,659 in 2023 for making a gun-like gesture during a touchdown celebration.
“We’re out here to play this game to entertain people at the end of the day,” Bynum said. “So I’m like, why not bring a little more entertainment that rewards us? So at the end of the day, we’re just having fun.”
It all began with a solo act. After intercepting a pass from Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud in Week 3, Bynum ran nearly 50 yards to the end zone, spun the ball, and started dancing. From afar, it seemed like a mix of basic hip-hop moves, but up close, it was clear: Bynum was doing the Usher Glitch.
Bynum, who was drafted by the Vikings in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, was born in 1998 and describes himself as a “90s kid.” His playful personality has always made him enjoy celebrating on the field.
He admitted that he’s “not really a dancer” and had to practice for months in the offseason after watching Usher perform at Super Bowl LVIII. He even posted videos on social media, filmed in his kitchen, to show his progress.
After his interception, the Vikings started what Bynum called a “generational celebrational run.”
In Week 5, when the Vikings played the New York Jets at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, his celebrations turned into a team event.
“‘Parent Trap’ is one of my favorite movies,” he said. “So as soon as I knew we were playing in London, I was like, ‘this is it.'”
By Week 10, when the Vikings played the Jacksonville Jaguars, Bynum drew inspiration from the viral Australian Olympic breakdancer Raygun — but first, he had to explain to his teammates that breakdancing became an Olympic sport in 2024.
In Week 14, against the Atlanta Falcons, Bynum and safety Josh Metellus paid tribute to the 2004 movie “White Chicks.” The next week, nearly a dozen teammates joined in to perform a dance scene from the 2008 Disney TV movie “Camp Rock.”
These celebrations mix football with entertainment, and the group routines are a big change from the traditional football mindset, which usually focuses only on preparing for games and not on celebrations.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love said last month, “They’re spending a lot of time on them.”
In Week 17, the Packers gave Bynum a chance to celebrate when he turned a fumble recovery into a tribute to the 2006 Disney movie “High School Musical.”
More importantly, Bynum’s coaches support the celebrations, partly because they’re celebrating a turnover. They’ve even started asking him what he might do next.
Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who is 39 and grew up in the 1990s, admitted that he hasn’t caught on to all the pop culture references. He said that this season, he’s felt like joining in but compared it to his usually shy behavior on the dance floor at weddings.
“It’s very similar to what I do at the edge of a dance floor at a wedding,” O’Connell said. “Just trying to figure out if I’m going to truly commit to this or not.”
Even Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, who spent most of his career with the disciplined New England Patriots, has praised his players’ creativity.
“You can’t play this game at a high level unless you have peace,” Flores said. “I think you get that from your preparation, and once you get that, you can have some joy playing this game. I like seeing that out of our group. I think you put those together and that’s how you play at your optimal level.”
Many celebrities have also joined in on the fun.
Usher, Joe Jonas, and Zac Efron have all joined the conversation online, and Lindsay Lohan even mentioned the “Parent Trap” reference during an appearance on “The Tonight Show.” Even the Savannah Bananas, a summer exhibition baseball team, got involved, playfully teasing Bynum and the Vikings for copying some of their dance moves.
The demand for Vikings’ dance videos has grown so much that Bynum has started posting behind-the-scenes footage of rehearsals on his Instagram and YouTube accounts.
The flip he and Josh Metellus did for the “White Chicks” celebration was the hardest move of the season, Bynum said. They only got it right once during practice before performing it in a game. He now keeps a list of 30 to 40 potential celebrations to choose from each week.
“But the challenge is, ‘Which one one-ups the last one?'” Bynum said. “So a lot of them are in planning, but I’m like, ‘Ah, that’s not better than the one we did the last time.’ If it’s not better than the last one, I don’t feel comfortable doing it. I’m like, ‘I got to give the people what they want.'”
While both the Vikings and Detroit Lions have become known for their celebrations, there are some differences. The Vikings mainly celebrate after big defensive plays, while the Lions focus on touchdowns scored by their offense.
“The Lions’ celebrations are good,” Bynum said with a smile. “They’re second place behind us right now in the celebration department. We’ve just got to beat them in this next game and that will get us to where we want to go. But in the celebration department, we got them.”
Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown created a new group chat. He added quarterback Jared Goff, running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, fellow wide receivers Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick, and Craig Reynolds, along with other offensive linemen, tight ends, and receivers.
Even while getting ready for a tough road game against the Houston Texans in Week 10, St. Brown wanted to make sure everyone knew what to do after the first touchdown was scored at NRG Stadium.
So, when Goff threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to tight end Sam LaPorta in the second quarter, the whole offense was ready. Without delay, they joined LaPorta in the end zone, laying on their stomachs, resting their heads on their hands, and kicking their legs in the air together to celebrate.
This was just another example of Detroit’s creative touchdown celebrations, which always get a lot of attention and views online.
“Jamo [Jameson Williams] came up with that celebration,” St. Brown said. “He was like, ‘Saint, you gotta tell everyone to do it, they’re gonna listen to you.’ I said, ‘Bet, I’ll send it out.’ So, I sent it.”
The Lions players have found inspiration for many of their celebrations from various sources like TikTok, Twitch, the Disney Channel, and even other players.
In Week 2 against Arizona, St. Brown did a dog crawl celebration after his second-quarter touchdown as a tribute to popular Twitch streamer Kai Cenat.
Then, against Green Bay on November 3, St. Brown celebrated his second-quarter touchdown with a no-hands headstand, which he had seen in college football. His headstand became so popular among Lions fans that it’s been featured on T-shirts and even Christmas ornaments.
These fun celebrations have become a big part of Detroit’s team identity.
“We really have a lot of fun with it. There are teams that do celebrations, and I’m not gonna knock any celebrations, but some are too long,” St. Brown told ESPN.
“It’s gotta be under like eight seconds. You can’t be out there all day doing celebrations. This ain’t a rehearsal, but I feel like we do have the best celebrations.”
Even though the Lions players talk about some of the celebrations before games, there isn’t a lot of time to practice them together. Most players come up with their own ideas but may sometimes ask teammates for small help, like with dancing.
After Gibbs scored his second-quarter touchdown against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12, he copied Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson’s famous step over move from the 2001 NBA Finals, when Iverson stepped over Tyronn Lue of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Before the game, Gibbs gave a hint at the celebration by wearing an old Iverson jersey. He had thought about doing the Iverson move the day before the game but didn’t tell St. Brown about it until they were in the locker room.
Even though they’re having fun on the field, Gibbs says there’s still a serious side to making sure the celebrations work.
“Yeah, but that’s what comes with being a professional,” Gibbs told ESPN. “We know when to lock in, but we also know it’s still a game and we’re still having fun out there.”
However, there have been some mistakes. Williams’ tribute to Lions legend Calvin Johnson’s goalpost dunk didn’t go as planned. After scoring a 70-yard touchdown in Week 4 against the Seahawks on the same night Johnson was inducted into the Pride of the Lions, Williams was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and fined $14,069.
In Week 11, Williams got fined $19,697 for another celebration after a 64-yard touchdown against Jacksonville. He copied Marshawn Lynch’s famous move, jumping backward into the end zone while grabbing his midsection, which led to a penalty.
Since he was six years old, Williams remembers being encouraged to celebrate after making big plays at the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club in St. Louis. Now, at 23 and in his third NFL season, Williams says those childhood memories come back to him whenever the Lions celebrate. He says these moments continue to excite him on the professional stage.
“That’s really why I do it. I feel like just as a kid, I wouldn’t say it was instilled in me, but my coach used to always tell me, ‘When y’all score, celebrate. Why not? Because you just did all of that just to walk off the field?'” Williams said. “So, pretty much ever since I started playing football from like six or seven years old, I’ve been celebrating every big play.”
Lions head coach Dan Campbell doesn’t mind the players getting creative with their celebrations. As a player, Campbell said he only did a spike in the end zone, but now as a coach, he doesn’t want to limit his players as long as their celebrations don’t result in penalties.
“I think you do both. I think there is fun in focus. There is fun in focus when it turns to those types of plays having success, when you score and you win,” Campbell said after the Dec. 22 win at Chicago. “I think that’s kind of the environment that you foster. We want our guys to be challenged. We want them accountable.”
Campbell also believes the creativity in touchdowns comes from the team’s success. The two go hand in hand.
“We want them to have fun. We want them to have ownership and investment, man. We’re all a part of this, and I think that’s huge. I think our guys get that,” he said. “Really, to me, to have a healthy group of guys, a healthy team, you need every emotion involved. Everything needs to be involved to get the whole person and the whole player. I love where we’re at.”
