Camryn Bynum and Joshua Metellus had been waiting for weeks.

So when the latter picked off a pass from former Vikings QB Kirk Cousins, the adrenaline carried them through the full White Chicks dance routine (flip included) despite the fact they hadn't practiced in a while.

"We've been waiting for a minute. It's been, like, four games me or Josh haven't had a turnover," Bynum said after Minnesota's Week 14 defeat of Atlanta. "So we're like, 'Dang, we need to get one.' We were tired because they had a long series, so I was like, 'Can we do it right now?' But we did.

"That might be the best one," he said with a laugh.

There are several to choose from.

Bynum this season, along with Metellus and other teammates, have taken the "Celly Game" up a notch. They've given nods to pop culture icons, films and moments along the way, from Bynum executing Raygun's Olympic break-dance routine at Jacksonville to he and Metellus breaking out the Parent Trap handshake against the Jets in London.

Actress Elaine Hendrix, also known as Meredith Blake in the 1998 film, has followed the Vikings from ever since her cousin Harrison Smith (small world, right?) was drafted by Minnesota in 2012. She especially was delighted by Bynum and Metellus recreating the iconic handshake.

"People started tagging me in the clip — including Harrison, which obviously REALLY made me pay attention," Hendrix laughed. "When I saw it, I was shocked … and thoroughly impressed. It's not like the handshake is simple to learn.

"The performer in me truly appreciated their skills," Hendrix added. "I stitched the video with a response [on TikTok], and now Cam and Josh and I are buddies. More reasons to be a Vikings fan!"

Those fans have grown accustomed to creative celebrations, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Take 2017, for instance, when end zone reenactments included Thanksgiving dinner at Detroit and a game of Duck, Duck, Gray Duck at Chicago.

But it's the defense having fun commemorating big plays this season.

"I feel like you have to go out there and have fun with your guys, your brothers. You go hard at practice every single week, and then on Sunday you've just gotta have fun with it," cornerback Byron Murphy, Jr., said. "Obviously it's all serious. You've gotta get the 'dub' and all those things, but you've still gotta have fun with it."

Murphy, whose six interceptions this season rank second in the NFL, broke out a dance from Stomp the Yard after also picking off Cousins in Week 14.

"The celebrations just show the types of guys we've got in our room," he said. "They like to celebrate like that and show everyone what we do."

Metellus and Bynum have circled back after viral cellies to share videos of their "practice reps," per se, in hotel conference rooms or the team's Indoor Practice Facility.

In certain locker rooms or within different team dynamics, it's quite possible that spending time practicing post-play extracurriculars would be frowned upon by coaches.

Not so in Minnesota.

"I've been around coaches that would never tell us to practice our celebrations or [ask us], 'What's your celebration going to be if you get a sack? Or a touchdown? A pick?' " Vikings outside linebacker Jonathan Greenard said. "[But here it's often], 'You should enjoy those moments.' Because you should. You worked your tail off to make the play; why not celebrate it?"

Vikings Defensive Coordinator Brian Flores appreciates the effort that goes into the play, as well as investments in the Parent Trap or White Chicks dances.

Flores opened his press conference last week by calling the latter "phenomenal."

"A lot of time spent on that one," he said. "You know, on Saturday nights, every once in a while we talk about or they watch a celebration that, 'Hey, we're going to do this as a group.' Those guys kept this one close to the vest. No one knew what was happening there.

"I thought it was very creative, executed well, so kudos to them on that one," he added. "I liked seeing that."

Flores has used the word "joy" more than once this season in referring to how players should approach the game of football. Asked about it recently, he shed more light on his philosophy:

"We talk about, look, you can't play this game at a high level unless you have peace. You get [peace] from your preparation, and once you get that? You can have some joy playing this game.

"I like seeing that out of our group," Flores said. "I think that's important to put those things together. That's how you play at your optimal level."

Plus, it's frankly difficult to discourage players' bonus motivating factors.

Weaving performance into his everyday life is nothing new for Bynum, who even during his high school graduation added a backflip after receiving his diploma, and his natural joy and charisma have caught the attention of football fans — and non-football fans — alike.

Mia Andrea never was interested in football. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, but didn't follow the Cardinals or any other team. It wasn't until she met her now-boyfriend and lifelong Vikings fan, Gannon, a few years ago that she started paying attention.

What started simply as watching games with Gannon and his family slowly developed into a casual interest for Mia, who kept an eye on scores and standings but still didn't feel invested.

Until she saw a video of Bynum running through the Delta Club at U.S. Bank Stadium following a Vikings victory.

"It was Cam's 'My life is a moooovie' thing that really stuck with me the first time," Andrea explained. "It brought some really fun personality to a sport that, honestly, I'd previously otherwise thought was very macho and very 'tough guy' energy — so seeing someone always genuinely having a smile on their face, and being very lighthearted and fun, made me very attached to him as a fan."

Andrea found herself following Bynum's performances more closely, and that soon developed into an interest in Minnesota's overall defense and other individual players.

She's enjoyed seeing others having similar experiences as the Vikings celebrations have caught fire. Andrea referenced the Parent Trap reference that even reached original star Lindsay Lohan on The Tonight Show.

Cara Cooper, who covers NASCAR for the Martinsville Bulletin in Virginia, posted on X in October, "If The Parent Trap is Cam Bynum's favorite movie, then Cam Bynum just became my favorite player."

Messages like Cooper's resonate with Andrea and her own experience.

"That celebration in London was so fun because it felt like his 'big break' of people catching on, 'Oh, this player's really fun to watch,' " said Andrea, who last summer had a custom Bynum jersey made because it wasn't carried online. "I'd see TikTok videos from people who weren't sports fans but hearing about [the celebrations] adjacently and getting really excited."

Minnesota has given fans numerous reasons lately to follow along, first and foremost sitting at 12-2 … in large part thanks to 28 takeaways that rank No. 2 in the league.

As the Vikings enter the final three games of the regular season, you can bet they'll be looking to add to that total and have fun while they do it.

It's who they are.

"I think it's a great thing that all of us, in general, are good people who enjoy smiling, enjoy telling jokes and being happy about life," Greenard said. "Games haven't always gone as well as everybody wanted at times, but you can just see the energy shift … because true colors show when you start facing adversity.

"Every time adversity happens in the game, or even outside, we just put our heads down and work. And when you have guys like that, we enjoy the wins a lot more. We enjoy the good things a lot more," he continued. "To have those types of guys? It makes our jobs that much easier."

Ask Flores, and he'll tell you that joy hasn't always been a part of his philosophy. But now that it is, there's no going back.

Joy is integral to success.

"There's a sense of peace that I have that comes through preparation, that comes through experience, that comes through relationships. You know, when you're sitting there in a room on a team with 52 other guys who you know have your back and you have theirs, there's a sense of peace that comes with that," Flores said. "And I think if you're not having fun playing this game and or coaching this game, you're never going to reach your optimum level.

"This is a very stressful and anxiety-filled game, so you're trying to strike this balance, but I think we've been able to," Flores added. "When it's, 'Hey, you're not celebrating this enough. We need more,' it's no different than, 'We need better edge. We need better technique on this play, better leverage.' … I would say it's always something you think the players are going to do on their own, but sometimes they need a little coaching on that, too. I think I've learned that over the years."