Lives Lived & Lost: Tiger Bech ’21 Was Joy On and Off the Field

Tiger Bech ’21 had a magnetic personality and a larger-than-life sense of humor. He was described by Princeton football coaches as fearless, and Bech’s teammates gravitated toward him as a source of joy and encouragement on and off the field.

His death in a truck attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day was not only shocking but devastating to family and friends.

“It’s very jarring because he had this like aura of untouchability,” Harrison Caponiti ’23, a Princeton football teammate, tells PAW.

The truck driver, identified by law enforcement as Shamsud-Din Jabbar, was an Army veteran. He drove into a crowd with a black ISIS flag on the truck’s rear bumper early on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people and injuring about 30 others. The FBI has stated that the attack was an act of terrorism. Jabbar, 42, was killed in a shootout with police.

Bech was in New Orleans to celebrate New Year’s with fellow Princeton football alumnus Ryan Quigley ’20, who suffered serious injuries as a result of the attack.

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Tiger Bech '21

Princeton Athletics

A Louisianan, Bech grew up in Lafayette and attended St. Thomas More Catholic High School. He earned all-state honors as a football player.

“He was like a lightning bolt that streaked across all of our lives, with the intensity of his love in the bright light of his personality and laughter,” said his high school position coach Lance Strother in a Facebook post. “He lit up our world and we’ll never forget it.”

Bech majored in sociology and played for the Princeton football team, earning All-Ivy honors as a punt returner in 2017 and 2018, and recording 825 receiving yards during his career as a wide receiver.

Going into the 2018 season, Bech “was part of a group that was arguably one of the strongest in the league and one of the most talented,” says Mark Rosenbaum, the quarterbacks coach for the Princeton football team. In 2018, his first year at Princeton, he was the wide receivers coach, and got to know Bech.

“He grew immensely in his approach to the details and in meetings and practice and everything,” Rosenbaum says. “And I think what defined him as a player is just his toughness and courage.”

Carson Bobo ’23 was a tight end on the football team and remembers looking up to Bech when learning the offense during his freshman year.

“Things are hard when you’re freshmen and you kind of look up to the older guys to guide you. And he was always just having a good time smiling and never took anything too seriously — while he kept the important things important,” says Bobo.

At his funeral service, people spoke about Bech’s love for life, outgoing personality, and how he cherished those around him.

Quigley and Bech worked together at Seaport Global Holdings, an investment company in New York City.

“From the moment that [Bech] joined our firm, he was recognized as a very positive, energetic young man, exceptional in many ways,” says Victor Kurylak ’79, COO of Seaport.

According to multiple people who attended Bech’s wake, the funeral home was nearly overwhelmed by the number of mourners, with a line of people wrapped around the building. “The love that came from the funeral, oh my goodness … this place was packed,” says Bobo.

Some alumni flew into Atlanta and drove eight hours to Lafayette to be there for Bech’s funeral.

“He was a ‘Tiger’ in every way — a ferocious competitor with endless energy, a beloved teammate, and a caring friend,” said head football coach Bob Surace ’90 in a statement. “Our last conversation was about how proud I was of the growth he showed during his time at Princeton and the success he was having after graduation.”

At Bech’s funeral service, his siblings emphasized how his death had brought so many people together in love.

“He was my best friend. My role model. My number one fan. The person I always wanted to grow up and be,” said Jack Bech, Tiger’s younger brother, at the service. Jack Bech is a wide receiver at Texas Christian University.

“He did everything he set out to do this side of heaven, except for watching me live out my dream of playing in the NFL,” Jack Bech said. “But now, he will have the best seat in the house.”

Hope Perry ’24 is PAW’s reporting fellow.