‘How do I top the last one?’ Vikings safety Camryn Bynum keeps delivering viral celebrations

The pressure is mounting on Vikings safety Camryn Bynum with each interception this season.

Bynum already has a career-high three picks, but he feels compelled to top each one.

Not the takeaway itself, but the dance celebration to follow.

“I have like 20 to 25 written down, but it’s tough now because they’re getting more and more viral, so I can’t let people down,” Bynum said. “Only like a few of them are worthy to do next. I have a few good ones that’ll for sure be great after. But right now, it’s a struggle because it’s, how do I top the last one? That’s the challenge, but I’m figuring it out.”

Bynum, 26, has gone viral on social media for each elaborate celebration that has followed interceptions against the Texans, Jets and Jaguars, the last one a game-sealing pick after which he busted out an imitation of Australian Olympic breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn.

While Bynum spun around on the turf, transitioning from headstand into a kangaroo pose popularized by Raygun’s lampooned routine this summer at the Paris Olympics, he confused some of his more veteran co-workers.

“I don’t know what dance that was that Cam was doing,” defensive coordinator Brian Flores said. “I mean, I do know now, but I had no idea what he was doing live.”

“For a second, I didn’t know what he was doing last time,” safety Harrison Smith said. “Like, that looks really bad. But then he nailed it.”

The internet response to Bynum’s celebrations have grown with each choreography.

He first hit Usher’s “Glitch” dance after intercepting Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud in a 34-7 Week 3 win over Houston. Then he practiced the handshake popularized by the 1998 movie “The Parent Trap” with safety Josh Metellus, breaking it out in London – one of the movie’s filming locations – after intercepting Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers in a 23-17 victory.

But to Bynum, his Raygun imitation is the peak so far.

“That’s a high bar,” Bynum said. “The way it went viral – I expected it to, but it’s just so cool the people I was able to reach out to and tap in with because of the celebration. The [dance crew] Jabbawockeez commented on it, Raygun herself, obviously.

“Usher commented on [the Week 3 celebration]. People I look up to, it’s cool for people to see it. [‘Parent Trap’ actress] Lindsay Lohan commenting on it. It’s random, cool stuff like that where the little kid inside of me gets excited.”

Bynum’s celebrations are a secret. He largely keeps them from teammates beforehand.

But Smith, who is nine years older than Bynum, knew exactly what he was looking at when he spotted Bynum and Metellus practicing the Parent Trap handshake in the team’s makeshift meeting room in London before the Oct. 6 win.

“No one really saw it, but I saw it,” Smith said, “And I recognized it because my cousin was in that movie,” referring to Elaine Hendrix, who played Meredith Blake, the stepmother-to-be of Lohan’s characters.

“She was pumped,” Smith said. “She loved it.”

Teammates aren’t concerned about Bynum putting too much preparation into his dance moves because he’s got a reputation as one of the more studious players on the team.

But when does Bynum find the time to choreograph?

“Once I figure out what to do, it doesn’t take it super long to practice,” Bynum said. “I’m not a great dancer, but I’m decent enough. I can figure it out. When I’m eating dinner at home and I can’t watch film because my hands are busy, that’s when I put something funny on the TV and figure it out.”

Bynum has tried to coerce more teammates into group celebrations, but he said not everybody is as willing or able a dancer. Against the Jaguars, defensive tackle Harrison Phillips celebrated a play by mimicking receiver Justin Jefferson’s “Griddy.”

“That was my issue,” Phillips said. “I didn’t have a plan. I’ll have to put more thought behind it or ask Cam if there’s one on the back burner that he thinks is for a 300-pound guy.

“It was a real Jesus-take-the-wheel type moment.”

Defenders have group celebrations in the works, according to linebacker Blake Cashman, who said they’re just waiting on a comfortable lead.

“We gotta be careful sometimes with getting penalized,” he said. “Maybe some of our ideas might be crossing that line. Depending on the situation in the game and where we’re at and what the scoreboard says, we might be able to bust one out. We got some ideas.”

Do you have a question about the Vikings? Email it to accessvikings@startribune.com. We’ll answer your questions in an upcoming Access Vikings newsletter or podcast.