Eagles surprise New Orleans terror attack survivor with tickets to Super Bowl LIX
One Philadelphia Eagles fan, who was injured and lost a friend in the New Year’s terrorist attack in New Orleans, will be heading to Super Bowl LIX.
The Philadelphia Eagles gifted Ryan Quigley, a former Princeton football player, two tickets to attend the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 in New Orleans after Quigley was injured and lost his friend, Martin "Tiger" Bech, 27, in the Jan. 1 attack. The Eagles shared a video documenting the surprise and Quigley’s emotional reaction on Jan. 30.
Quigley, Bech’s sister Ginnie Bech, and a friend, were invited to the Eagles' practice facility last week for a tour after Quigley and Ginnie attended a playoff game and met players earlier in January. The video shows Quigley, who is on crutches during the tour, meeting Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham, former Eagles center Jason Kelce and more.
Graham delivered the big surprise.
"We wanted to tell you the real reason we brought you," began Graham. "It’s okay if you’re not feeling it, but we would love to have you down for the Super Bowl."
He added, "We know it’s in New Orleans and we understand, and so if you up for it, you’re there."
"Tiger was the biggest fan," said Quigley. "We went to every home game last year."
"All year… I told him, if we make it, ‘I promise I’m gonna take you to the Super Bowl.’ So, I’d love nothing more than to still take him," he continued.
Quigley and Graham embraced as Quigley became emotional remembering his friend Tiger Bech.
"He’s a special dude, bro," he said. "Y’all would have loved him."
Quigley continued, "He would have loved nothing more than to be there, and I’m going to make sure he’s there with us. I'm sharing his story, bro."
Graham responded, "He living through you."
Ginnie Bech also became emotional during the meeting and shared her appreciation for the moment.
"For Ryan and for our family, that we get to rewrite this so soon, from such a negative horrible memory to such a really beautiful and cool memory and what you guys have done for us, it truly means so much," said Ginnie Bech.
While Quigley and Graham shared joint appreciation, Graham called Quigley a "tough warrior."
On the early morning of Jan. 1, an Army veteran drove a rented pickup truck around a parked police car serving as a barricade and plowed through a crowd of New Year's revelers on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, leaving 14 victims dead and dozens injured, city and federal officials said.
Michelle Bech previously told ABC News that her son Tiger Bech played football at Princeton University and moved to New York City after graduating in 2021 to work for Seaport Global, a capital markets firm.
She told ABC News that her son lived life to the fullest and was "on top of the world."
The Philadelphia Eagles are set to play the Kansas City Chiefs in New Orleans on Feb. 9, less than two months after the attack.
