The Empire State Building is doubling down on its colorful support of the Philadelphia Eagles.
The iconic New York City skyscraper sparked a controversy when it displayed green and white lights to celebrate the Eagles’ win in the NFC Championship.
To make matters worse, the building’s official Twitter account celebrated the move, saying, “Fly, Eagles Fly! We’re going Green and White in honor of the Eagles NFC Championship Victory.”
Fly @Eagles Fly! We’re going Green and White in honor of the Eagles NFC Championship Victory. pic.twitter.com/RNiwbCIkt7
— Empire State Building (@EmpireStateBldg) January 29, 2023
Naturally, that unexpected show of support for the New York Giants‘ archrivals did not sit well with local sports fans.
That building sucks!
— Robert Silverman (@BobSaietta) January 29, 2023
Even New York City Mayor Eric Adams said it was a bad look for the building.
So it seemed everyone would be reporting this week that the Empire State Building had learned its lesson, it valued local Giants fans etc. But no. The building’s management company told the New York Post Thursday the building will light up to honor the Super Bowl winner, be it the Eagles or the Kansas City Chiefs.
“The Empire State Building will continue its annual practice of being a virtual scoreboard for the Super Bowl, and will then light for the winning team,” an Empire State Realty Trust spokesperson told the newspaper.
As the Post explained, the building views itself as a global brand, with the goal of appealing to potential visitors around the world. The stunt with the Eagles colors turned out to be a marketing sensation. The original tweet has been viewed more than 45 million times and gotten plenty of coverage on other social and traditional media.
