Camryn Bynum had just grabbed the game-clinching interception in the Vikings' 27-22 serial-drama victory over the Jets on Sunday and, like defensive backs everywhere, he felt obliged to look for a flag.
His mother was holding it, and it featured yellow as an accent, not a theme.
The flag of the Philippines is predominantly royal blue, crimson red and white. Bynum draped it over his shoulders, sprinted to celebrate with fellow Vikings safety Harrison Smith, then ran into the locker room with the flag flowing behind him like a cape.
Bynum ended the Jets' first drive with a hit that caused the deflection that became an interception for Smith. Bynum's interception with 10 seconds remaining gave the Vikings another cuticle-shredding victory, and provided a reminder that any athlete's story can be as stratified as a glacier.
Bynum was a fourth-round pick in 2021 out of Cal. He played well as Smith's replacement at times as a rookie. Then the new Vikings regime used their first first-round pick to select Georgia safety Lewis Cine, either to replace Bynum immediately or Smith eventually, or both.
Cine wasn't healthy enough to overtake Bynum in training camp, and then suffered a season-ending leg injury against the Saints. So Bynum found himself playing alongside and bonding with Smith on a team that is now, improbably, 10-2 and on a defense that is, improbably, making just enough winning plays to mask its deficiencies.
Bynum's heart is as good as his hands. His mother is half-Filipino. On the Sunday that the NFL promoted "My Cause, My Cleats," Bynum wore colorful shoes encouraging donations to Filipino charities such as New Life, a community organization, and Keys to Freedom Ministries.
"We try to help with the burdens of typhoon victims, and earthquake victims," Bynum said. "There are a lot of natural disasters out there, and people don't really know about that. So being able to bring our resources over there means a lot to me."
