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ESPN Staff Writer- Kevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia. You can follow him via Twitter @SeifertESPN.
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ESPN- Eric Woodyard covers the Detroit Lions for ESPN. He joined ESPN in September 2019 as an NBA reporter dedicated to the Midwest region before switching to his current role in April 2021. The Flint, Mich. native is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has authored/co-authored three books: "Wasted, Ethan's Talent Search" and "All In: The Kelvin Torbert Story". He is a proud parent of one son, Ethan. You can follow him on Twitter: @E_Woodyard
The Minnesota Vikings and Lions will meet Sunday night in Detroit in a game that carries massive playoff implications for football fans. It will determine the NFC North title and the No. 1 seed in the conference playoffs, and it will also carry high anticipation for the secondary celebratory antics.
The two teams have planned, rehearsed and executed almost weekly celebrations that featured shoutouts to 1990s and early 2000s movies, social media dance trends, viral pop culture moments and more.
Their creativity has attracted an audience well beyond traditional die-hard football fans, with celebrities such as Usher and Lindsay Lohan weighing in on their tributes.
The NFL's embrace of pop culture found a new audience in 2024, a year after Swifties descended on the league to follow 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 czar Camryn Bynum told ESPN.
While the league has eagerly spotlighted the Vikings' celebratory antics on its social media, it has also enforced its rules against prohibited celebrations and taunting when necessary. Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson, for example, was penalized after his traditional post-touchdown Griddy against Seattle in Week 16 because he stared at Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon as he danced. The NFL also fined Jefferson $13,659 in 2023 when he made a gun-like signal 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 STARTED AS a solo. After intercepting Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud in Week 3, Bynum popped up, sprinted nearly 50 yards to the end zone, spun the ball and began dancing. From a distance, it looked like a combination of generic hip-hop moves. At a closer range, it was clear: Bynum had hit the Usher Glitch.
Bynum, a fourth-round draft pick in 2021, was born in 1998 and calls himself a "90s kid." His fun-loving personality has always lent itself to on-field celebrations. He admitted that he is "not really a dancer" and said he had to practice for months in the offseason after seeing Usher perform at Super Bowl LVIII. He posted videos taken in his kitchen to his social media to prove it.
Soon after the interception, the Vikings were off on 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 expanded 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.'"
When Week 10's matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars rolled around, Bynum drew inspiration from the viral Australian Olympic breakdancer Raygun -- but not before explaining to some teammates that breakdancing had made its debut as an Olympic sport in 2024.
He and safety Josh Metellus paid homage to the 2004 film "White Chicks" in Week 14 against the Atlanta Falcons, while nearly a dozen teammates joined them the following week to perform a dance scene from Disney's 2008 TV movie "Camp Rock."
The dances have blended football and entertainment, but the group choreography is a break from old-school football vibes that demand every spare minute be devoted to preparing for games -- not celebrations.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love said last month: "They're spending a lot of time on them."
The Packers, however, gave Bynum an early opportunity to celebrate in Week 17, when he turned a fumble recovery into an homage to the 2006 Disney TV movie "High School Musical."
The Vikings hit the "We're All In This Together" from High School Musical 😂👏
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 29, 2024
(via @Vikings) pic.twitter.com/F4p62ah9ik
More importantly, Bynum's coaches heartily approve -- in part because they are celebrating a turnover -- and have even begun asking him what might be next. Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who at 39 is squarely a product of the 1990s, claims that he hasn't once picked up on the pop culture references. He said this season that he instinctively has wanted to join in but compared it to his otherwise shy approach to public cavorting.
"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 notoriously straight-laced New England Patriots, has applauded 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 the fun.
Usher, Joe Jonas and Zac Efron have all engaged online, and Lohan mentioned the "Parent Trap" callback during an appearance on "The Tonight Show." Even the Savannah Bananas, an exhibition summer league baseball team, have gotten in on the act, lightly trolling Bynum and the Vikings for duplicating some of their own dances.
The thirst for Vikings' dance content has grown so much that Bynum has begun posting behind-the-scenes videos of the rehearsals on his Instagram and YouTube accounts.
The flip that he and Metellus executed for "White Chicks" was the most difficult move of the season, he said, and they only nailed it once in practice before doing so in the game. He now maintains a list of between 30 and 40 potential celebrations to mull over 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 Minnesota and Detroit have become known for their celebrations, there are differences. The Vikings' celebrations have largely come after big defensive plays, while the Lions typically highlight touchdowns 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 put together a new group chat. He included quarterback Jared Goff, running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, fellow wide receivers Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick and Craig Reynolds in addition to other offensive linemen, tight ends and receivers.
Even while prepping for a tough Week 10 road matchup in Houston, the Lions All-Pro receiver wanted to spread the word on what they would do once the first touchdown was scored at NRG Stadium.
So, once Goff connected with tight end Sam LaPorta for a 20-yard touchdown during the second quarter against the Texans, everyone on the offense already knew what to do.
Without hesitation, they joined LaPorta on the ground in the end zone, where they rested their heads on their hands and started kicking their legs in the air together, while laying on their stomachs to celebrate.
It was yet another example of Detroit's weekly end zone celebrations that consistently rack up hundreds of thousands of views.
"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 source of inspiration for many of these celebrations has seemingly been endless for Lions players. They've taken ideas from TikTok, Twitch, the Disney Channel and even other players.
In Week 2 at Arizona, St. Brown pulled off a dog crawl celebration as a nod to popular Twitch streamer Kai Cenat following his second-quarter touchdown. Against Green Bay on Nov. 3, St. Brown also celebrated his second-quarter toe-tap touchdown with a no-hands headstand, which he saw in college football. The headstand image of St. Brown has become so popular among Lions fans that it's been used on T-shirts and even Christmas ornaments.
These creative expressions have become a part of Detroit's 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 underneath 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."
Although Lions players talk about some of the celebrations before the game, there's not much time to rehearse them together. Most of the guys come up with their own ideas but will sometimes request minor assistance from their teammates, such as dancing.
After Gibbs scored his second-quarter touchdown versus the Indianapolis Colts in Week 12, he recreated Basketball Hall of Famer Allen Iverson's iconic step over on then-Los Angeles Lakers guard Tyronn Lue.
Ahead of the game, Gibbs hinted at the celebration by rocking a retro Iverson jersey. Gibbs thought about the Iverson celebration the day before the game, but didn't tell St. Brown about it until they got to the locker room.
Even with all the fun they're having on the field, Gibbs claims there's a level of focus to being able to execute those moves.
"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."
There have been some miscues, however. Williams' tribute to Lions great Calvin Johnson and his signature goalpost dunk celebration didn't go as planned. After scoring a 70-yard touchdown during Week 4's "Monday Night Football" game against the Seahawks -- the same night Johnson was inducted into the Pride of the Lions -- Williams was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and fined $14,069 by the league.
In Week 11, Williams received another $19,697 fine for a touchdown celebration in which he recreated legendary running back Marshawn Lynch's controversial move -- jumping into the end zone backward while grabbing his midsection -- after a 64-yard score against Jacksonville.
Lions aren't slowing down! JAMO TD 🦁
— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
📺: #JAXvsDET on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/2pPKz1VI81
As early as six years old, Williams remembers being encouraged to celebrate after making big plays on the field at the Herbert Hoover Boys & Girls Club in his hometown of St. Louis. Now at 23, in his third NFL season, Williams says he's reminded of those schoolyard days when the Lions are celebrating. Those moments continue to bring excitement to 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 see an issue with the players getting creative during celebrations. As an NFL player, Campbell said a spike in the end zone was about as far as he would go, but as a head coach, he doesn't want to limit his players as long as it doesn't cost them a penalty.
"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 following the Dec. 22 win at Chicago. "I think that's kind of the environment that you foster. Ultimately, we want our guys to be challenged. We want them accountable."
Still, Campbell believes that the on-field production is driving the touchdown creativity. It goes hand in hand with the team's success.
"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."