'LOL What?' Knicks' Jalen Brunson Amused By Empire State Building's Eagles Stunt
Count Jalen Brunson, a prominent wearer of New York City's most favorite shades of blue and orange, among the few fans of the Empire State Building's green and white makeover.
The famed skyscraper angered New Yorkers on Sunday evening when its upper floors donned the colors of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, who advanced to Super Bowl LVII with a dominant win in their conference championship game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Brunson, a Villanova University alum and current New York Knicks point guard, has offered his support for the Eagles all season and is among the many who believe the team is destined for its second Super Bowl victory in five years.
Considering the Eagles' status as one of the biggest rivals of the local New York Giants, metropolitan sports fans were livid over the tribute even though it was kept relatively brief: the building switched over to the red shades of the Eagles' future competition, the Kansas City Chiefs, after their last-minute victory over Cincinnati set up the championship matchup.
Giants fans, whose team plays across the Hudson River in East Rutherford, NJ, are no doubt still fuming from a beatdown the Eagles bestowed them during the Divisional round last week. That loss served as a disappointing end to an otherwise sterling season, which saw the Giants reach the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Even supporters of the Giants' MetLife Stadium co-tenants, the New York Jets, weren't pleased by the sight, declaring that the New York City landmark should only go green and white to support them, rather than the Eagles.
Brunson, pleased about the victory, was left dumbfounded by the light, commenting "Lol what" in response to a social media post about the tribute. That perplexion carried over to Monday, as the Knicks prepare to face off against the Los Angeles Lakers in Tuesday's nationally televised showcase at MSG (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT).
“I was caught off-guard. I would never think anything in New York would turn Philly green,” Brunson told Peter Botte of the New York Post. “So it was a little off for me, but I got a good kick out of it. I’m just happy they’re moving on.”
The Knicks (27-24) are paying Brunson a lot, but even the $104 million allotted to him in the contract he inked with the team last summer wasn't enough for him to ditch the Birds. Fans, at least those of the Manhattan preference, are more than likely able to forgive Brunson, who has fulfilled his end of the deal and then some to the tune of 22.5-point and 6.2-rebound averages, both of which stand as career-bests.
Playing amongst haters of the Eagles is nothing new for Brunson, his first four NBA seasons came in Dallas, home of both the Mavericks and Cowboys, the latter also stationed among the Eagles and Giants' NFC East quartet.
No doubt frustrated by the Eagles' success are Brunson's fellow Knicks Julius Randle and Obi Toppin, who respectively support the Cowboys and Giants. Toppin reportedly predicted a Giants victory when their squads met on Jan. 21 but was quickly humbled when the hosting Eagles rolled to a 38-7 victory at Lincoln Financial Field, which sits a stone's throw away from Brunson's part-time collegiate stomping grounds of Wells Fargo Center. Brunson was sure to direct irate New Yorkers looking for a scapegoat over to Toppin as the shellacking commenced.
Super Bowl LVII between the Eagles and Chiefs will be held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ on Feb. 12, an off-day for the Knicks. Brunson has held off on making game day gridiron predictions and opted to keep that streak alive out of superstition.
“I didn’t have a good prediction for the last game or the game before that, so I’m going to keep the streak going," he told The Post. "I always feel like we’re always the underdogs, Eagles have always been the underdogs so we’re going to keep that mentality.”
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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