Justin Jefferson's taking the Griddy to an even higher level.
Starting Wednesday, the Vikings' star receiver will have his signature dance featured as a Fortnite celebration, also known as an emote. The game is a huge deal within the NFL community; Jefferson will be the first player to be featured as part of the league's continued partnership with Epic Games.
This Fortnite-Griddy news is indeed a dream realized for Jefferson and dance creator Allen Davis. In 2017, the then- LSU freshman saw Davis' dance take off in New Orleans high school football and broke out the steps for his Tigers teammates.
"I (was in) high school, so him in the SEC doing it, that is big," Davis told Complex’s Mike DeStefano. "So I knew the dance was going to be bigger than what it was."
Davis was right. Two seasons later, Jefferson hit his dance on a national stage against Texas. It became the Tigers' go-to celebration during their ensuing national championship run.
When the Vikings drafted Jefferson in 2020, he knew the dance would follow him to the pros.
"Every time I scored, I was doing it," Jefferson told DeStefano. "Everybody was just waiting for me to do it (when I made it to the NFL)."
Not even the Offensive Rookie of the Year runner-up could've predicted this reception, though. LSU products did the dance to celebrate. Jefferson's Vikings teammate Adam Thielen tried it. By season's end, Drew Brees' kids were doing it in their Superdome seats. Fans clamored for video games to pick up on the craze -- and even signed this petition to include the Griddy in the next Madden game.
Fortnite's upcoming release will beat out all others as the first to include the dance. But Jefferson wants his fans to know no one -- in a video game or otherwise -- can out-Griddy him.
"(They know) who does it the best," he said. "I feel like everybody knows who really does it the best in the league."
