Fly, Eagles, fly in NY? Governor weighs in on Empire State Building sporting Philly colors

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) doesn’t seem happy about the Empire State Building lighting itself up in green and white to celebrate the Philadelphia Eagles’ big victory Sunday in the NFC championship game.

“To be clear, New York State has no control over how @EmpireStateBldg lights its colors,” Hochul wrote in a tweet on Sunday alongside a rolling eyes emoji.  

The building in the heart of midtown was lit up in the Eagles’ colors a week after Philadelphia trounced the New York Giants 38-7. On Sunday, Philadelphia won a trip to the Super Bowl with a 31-7 defeat over the San Francisco 49ers.

The famed building shared a Twitter post on Sunday with a picture of its tower lights displaying the Eagles’ main colors.

“Fly @Eagles Fly!” the Empire State Building said in a tweet. “We’re going Green and White in honor of the Eagles NFC Championship Victory.”

Many Twitter users, mostly Giants fans, were quick to call out the building for its decision to show support for the city’s football team’s bitter rival, and Hochul, a Buffalo, N.Y., native and avid Buffalo Bills supporter, chimed in. 

According to its website, the building had planned to display the colors of the winning teams in the conference championship games that day, and it also illuminated red and white lights hours later in honor of the Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in the AFC championship game. 

“That hurt us more than it hurt you,” the building said in its post. “We’re now lit for the @chiefs in honor of their AFC Championship Win.” 

The banter comes as the Eagles, led by MVP favorite quarterback Jalen Hurts and second-year head football coach Nick Sirianni, are set to take on the Chiefs, led by star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and former Eagles head coach Andy Reid, in Super Bowl LVII, which is scheduled for Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.