The Empire State Building Doesn't Care What New Yorkers Want And We Know Why
It was a stunning moment that brought nearly all New Yorkers together.
Just what were the Empire State Building caretakers thinking - illuminating the beloved and iconic symbol in green and white after the Philadelphia Eagles won the NFC Championship last week?!
New Yorkers, including myself, lost our minds. Some had faux-outrage. But as you can see in this video I posted as soon as it happened on Twitter, my anger was real. I legit could not understand why we would cater to a rival team - especially over a championship, but not THE championship in the Super Bowl.
THE ESB LIT UP IN GREEN AND WHITE FOR THE EAGLES
I, like many others, believed that there was no way that another city like Philadelphia would decorate something like the Liberty Bell if the Giants won the NFC Championship. So why do we have to constantly cater to the rest of the world all the time? My outrage was only elevated because it was the Eagles, which of course is a big time rivalry for the Giants. But even if the 49ers won, I still would have been like "What are we doing here?'
Well, New Yorkers, be prepared - because it's going to happen again.
Empire State Realty Trust told the New York Post yesterday that they will be turning the colored lights on once again for whoever wins the Super Bowl on February 12th.
“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.” a spokesperson told the outlet.
After outrage came down last week, the ESB continued its online trolling ways - by making a compilation video of people that were freaking out - including one person who tweeted, "King Kong should have destroyed you ."
WHY IS THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING TICKING OFF NEW YORKERS?
The Empire State Building is privately owned, so they can essentially do whatever they want. Regarding the lighting procedures, their official website states: "The Empire State Building is privately owned, has its own selection review procedures and policies, and has sole discretion over what lightings are and are not approved. Its ownership may change those policies at any time without notice."
But they seem to be doubling down here - almost waving their finger at New Yorkers, who are clearly ticked off. Hell, even Mayor Adams and New York Governor Hochul have come out against the Building's decision to go green and white last week.
But the ESB doesn't care. Why is this?
We're not entirely sure.
However, the largest shareholder of Empire State Realty Trust is the Vanguard Group. They own 13% of shares.
The Vanguard Group is located in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania - not far from Philadelphia. They also are a member of Philadelphia's Chamber of Commerce.
Could it be that somebody high up at Vanguard is instructing the Empire State Building to push the buttons - literally?
I've seen stranger things happen!
VANGUARD GROUP IS BASED IN PENNSYLVANIA AND HAS INFLUENCE
In the end though, actual New Yorkers still win.
We aren't upset that the building is going to honor the Super Bowl Champions - that makes complete sense. They do it a lot of the time whenever a team wins a major sports championship such as the World Series or Georgia recently winning the NCAA National Championship.
It's you, the Empire State Building, that looked foolish by doing it for the damn NFC Championship game of all things. Talk about a stretch.
However one thing can be sure. The Empire State Building single-handedly managed to tick off a ton of New Yorkers. They sold us out so they could bring more tourists in after their trolling tweet went viral.
Hope it was worth it.
Can't wait to see the ESB start lighting up when M&M's releases a new colored character. Or Pepsi unveils a new flavored drink.