Ryan Quigley ’20 Returns to New Orleans for Super Bowl After Terror Attack

Five years ago, Ryan Quigley ’20 wrote his thesis, “America’s Response to Terror,” an examination of the reconstruction and memorialization of the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It was intended to shed light on one of the darkest days in America’s history.

It was not supposed to foreshadow the most horrific night of Quigley’s life. How could he have predicted he’d be a victim of terrorism himself, suffering near-fatal injuries that he likely survived only because he played college football and is built like a cinder block? Or that his best friend, Tiger Bech ’21, would be among the 14 people murdered?

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Ryan Quigley ’20, left, with Eagles running back Saquon Barkley before a playoff game in Philadelphia.

Courtesy of Ryan Quigley ’20

The whole modus operandi of terrorism, of course, is to strike with sudden, hate-fueled lethality, when nobody sees it coming. Quigley, 26, a former standout running back, knows that. He also knows from his study of 9/11 that the best response is to not recoil, to go at your pain and fears with the same ferocity he’d attack a linebacker.

That’s why he is returning to the scene of the crime: New Orleans. With Tiger Bech’s family. For the Super Bowl.

“[New Year’s] was going to be the first and last time I ever went to New Orleans,” Quigley said.

“But I didn’t want evil to win. I need to go back to change the end of the story.”

The attack happened in the wee hours of Jan. 1 on Bourbon Street. Quigley and Bech, along with others in Bech’s family, decided to celebrate New Year’s Eve in the French Quarter. They considered staying in Bech’s hometown in Lafayette, Louisiana, just over two hours away, but wanted to get a nonstop flight out to New York, and that would be easier from New Orleans.

They were heading back to their hotel at 3:15 a.m. when an Army veteran from Texas, driving a white Ford pickup truck with an ISIS flag hanging from the back, turned onto Bourbon Street. He drove on the sidewalk to avoid a police roadblock, hit the gas, and slammed into scores of pedestrians.

Instantly, carnage and devastation were everywhere on the most famous party street in America. Quigley woke up in a hospital in the worst pain of his life, bones shattered, ACL torn, meniscus mangled, along with a deep gash in his face and lacerations all over. Then he got the worst news of all.

Tiger Bech was among those who had been killed.

Quigley spent the ensuing days all but immobilized in a hospital bed, his body awash in painkillers and grief. He and Bech were not just best friends; they were soulmates, teammates, roommates, even workmates, their desks adjoined at Seaport Global, the New York brokerage firm where they were both launching careers in finance.

Quigley admired Tiger’s zest for life; everyone did. Bob Surace ’90, Princeton’s football coach, wasn’t surprised that 125 Princeton football players, past and present, were among the overflow turnout at Bech’s funeral.

Princeton’s 2018 team went undefeated, winning all seven league games by an average of 28 points. Bech, the best punt returner Surace has ever coached, was a smallish guy (5-9, 180 pounds) by football standards but an outsized part of what the team accomplished.

“Tiger was a ball of energy,” Surace said. “His youthful exuberance is something every championship team needs. There was never anyone he didn’t want to be friends with, he didn’t want to talk to and get to know.”

Bech’s sister, Ginnie, said Tiger was a person who would befriend kids who were getting bullied, or weren’t cool, a big-hearted advocate for every underdog he met.

“I can’t even describe his characteristics,” Quigley said. “He definitely was a special person.”

A Pennsylvania kid and lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fans, Quigley converted Bech into an Eagles fan, too. As the team marched through a dominating, 14-victory regular season, Quigley told his friend he would take him to the Super Bowl in New Orleans if the Eagles made it.

The Eagles trounced the Green Bay Packers to begin their playoff run and then hosted the Los Angeles Rams. Bech’s death had received national coverage by then. The Eagles reached out to Quigley and invited him to attend the Rams game as their guest. Ginnie Bech and others were invited, as well.

The club presented Quigley with an Eagles jersey with “Bech” on the back, above No. 25, Quigley’s number at Princeton. Quigley met a host of Eagles players, including his fellow running back, Saquon Barkley. After getting by the Rams and then crushing Washington, the Eagles were back in their second Super Bowl in three years. The club presented two Super Bowl tickets to Quigley and Ginnie Bech.

In between waves of sorrow, Quigley has spent the past few weeks diving into rehab work in Philadelphia. He is staying at Ginnie’s place because it’s a short distance to the rehab facility. He’s making good progress after ACL surgery and can get around on crutches now. He’s working hard on his range of motion and rebuilding his strength.

Quigley will return to the city he never wanted to see again two days before the big game, accompanied by Tiger’s parents, Martin and Michelle, along with brother Jack, sister Sophie, and Ginnie and her fiancé, thanks to complimentary tickets from the NFL and Fox.

“I told Tiger I would take him to the Super Bowl and I’m going to uphold that promise,” Quigley said.

He talked about how often he and Bech would hang out at the Alchemist & Barrister on Witherspoon Street, how inseparable they were, and how much they loved their time at Princeton. Ginnie Bech said Tiger was a Hoagie Haven regular, but his go-to place in town was Winberie’s.

“He’d get the French onion soup, every time,” Ginnie Bech said. “That was his favorite.” She paused for moment and talked about Super Bowl weekend, being back in Louisiana, and the city where her little brother’s joyful, full-throttle life was ended by a terrorist in a truck.

“There’s going to be a lot of beauty about it, but it’s definitely going to be a very difficult weekend for all of us,” Ginnie Bech said. “We’re going for one reason and one reason only: to honor Tiger and honor his life. We’re doing this to tell his story to anyone who will listen and let everyone around the world know that we’re not scared.”

There is a GoFundMe page to support Quigley’s recovery and assist Bech’s family.