MANHATTAN (PIX11) — The iconic Empire State Building lit up in green and white Sunday night.
It was meant to be a tribute to a team headed to the Super Bowl, but for New York Giants fans, it was a maddening sight. The Philadelphia Eagles eliminated the Giants from this year’s playoffs and have been a hated rival for decades.
Fans were outraged by the sight of Eagles green and white on one of New York City’s most iconic buildings. The firestorm quickly hit twitter, with fans and politicians taking jabs at the lights.
Queens Borough President Donavan Richards tweeted at his Manhattan counterpart, Mark Levine.
“Empire state building knows it’s in Manhattan, right? Get your borough under control @MBPMarkLevine,” Richards tweeted.
Levine replied.
“Oh rest assured we are launching a full investigation,” the Manhattan borough president tweeted. “I’m talking public hearings and audits.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul was quick to make sure New Yorkers knew the state “has no control over how @EmpireStateBldg lights its colors”
New York City’s newspapers also took their shots at the lights. The New York Post headline read, “BIRD BRAINS: Off color Empire Mistake Building lights up for Eagles.”
The Empire State Building responded to the criticism on Twitter, saying, “That hurt us more than you.”
The Giants also got in on it, saying on their Twitter page “I’m just here for the comments”.
After four hours, the offending Philadelphia green and white was replace by the red of the non-rival Kansas City Chiefs, to which New Yorkers did a collective shrug.
With the eagles now headed to the Super Bowl, all eyes will on be on the game, but if the Eagles win, brace yourself. There could be more green and white. At least this time, you’ve been warned.