The Empire State Building changed its colors to Kelly Green in response to the Philadelphia Eagles NFC Championship game victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 29. While the worst of the public backlash is now in the past, for a good week it was the thing to talk about if one were just in the mood to rant on afternoon sports-talk radio.

For native New Yorkers who also happen to be Giants fans, it’s understandable to be somewhat upset at first glance. Seeing something that you consider a centerpiece of the city celebrating the win of an arch rival can feel like a slap in the face. However, it was not that much of an atrocity to the point people felt like they needed to tweet about their hatred for the Empire State building days after it all went down. 

Besides, the Empire State Building changed its colors shortly after to Chiefs colors following the Kansas City Chiefs win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game. They did the same for the Chiefs Super Bowl victory over guess who, the Eagles. It’s not as if the owner of the Empire State Building purposely changed its colors to Kelly Green in an attempt to spite Giants fans. 

The Empire State Building is also privately owned by the shareholders of the Empire State Realty Trust. Management is allowed to change its colors to whatever they may choose. People may disagree with their decision to do so, but there is nothing they can legally do about it. People who don’t like it can buy a building in Philadelphia, install LED Lights if it doesn’t already have them and change it to Giant Blue and Red for every Giants win next season. 

New York City is also unique in the fact it embodies many people who are not native New Yorkers. There is a good percentage of people living in New York who are probably Eagles fans. There are also tourists who probably have no idea what football is, but see the bright colors on this tall building and decide to check it out which brings in revenue. 

At the end of the day, it’s understandable why some people may have been upset when they first saw Eagles colors on the Empire State Building. However, there shouldn’t have been the outrage there was for the entire week that followed. It should’ve been one of those things that was talked about on sports radio the following Monday and then immediately forgotten about shortly thereafter.

At least those that were outraged got the satisfaction of seeing the Eagles lose in the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 12.