The Townsend Harris Girls Flag Football team earned an invitation from the New York Jets to light the top of the Empire State Building in green to honor the Jets season opener. The THHS 2023-2024 Flag Football Champs met with former Jet linebacker Bart Scott, making the encounter even more prestigious for the team. On Monday, they spent the first six bands of school at the Empire State Building. Members of the team and their coach Matthew Curiale discussed the experience with The Classic.
Coach Curiale says that he couldn’t be prouder of the girls as winning the city championship was the goal, and he thought this experience rewarded them for their hard work. During the ceremony, coach Curiale said, “the girls were honored and then were given a private tour of the observatory.” After the tour, the team got Jets hats and bracelets to prepare for the ceremony.
Before the lighting, junior MJ Buitrago said that they then met with Mr. Scott, who gave the team a private speech. Meeting with Mr. Scott and hearing his words of encouragement got MJ to “reflect on our past season and how far we made it by winning champs.” Further conversation with Mr. Scott made the team look forward to their next season, as they realize that they can keep up their intense work for experiences like this.
Sophomore Emmie Elizabeth said she felt the significance of the event in the moment when she saw ten cameras pointed at them taking pictures.
The championship team from last spring’s season included the seniors who are now alumni. Junior Chloe Rosin said that the only thing that could’ve made the experience better was if the seniors from last year were able to join, as she refers to them as the life of the team when they were working towards the championship.
Although the team didn’t get the chance to interact with Mr. Scott for long, Chloe said that he said he hopes to see them being successful with football, even on an Olympic level.
As the actual season opener ceremony began, the team was called up in front of the cameras to stand with Mr. Scott during his short speech. After wishing the Jets good luck on their game, Mr. Scott said, “If they can be like these great champions right here, we’ll be able to have that parade that New York has been yearning for years.”
