'You're coming with us': How the Eagles made New Orleans terror attack survivor part of their Super Bowl parade celebration

Alex Coffey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Feb 15, 2025

Published in Football

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PHILADELPHIA — On Friday afternoon, Ryan Quigley was sitting behind a barricade in his wheelchair, not far from the Art Museum, with three of his friends and throngs of fans, when he caught the attention of the Eagles offensive linemen Jordan Mailata, Cam Jurgens and Landon Dickerson.

They immediately ran over to the 26-year-old native of Lansdale, Pa., and said, “You’re coming with us,” while laughing.

With a brace on Quigley’s right leg, and a player carrying his wheelchair, Mailata and Dickerson lifted Quigley onto the bus. He rode with the team to the back of the museum.

Quigley was a survivor of the Jan. 1 New Orleans terror attack, when a truck plowed through a crowd on Bourbon Street at 3:15 a.m. He’d lost his best friend and former Princeton football teammate, Tiger Bech, that morning.

It’s an experience that he has not fully processed yet, but over the past two months, it has given him something beautiful: A close relationship with his and Bech’s favorite team.

The Eagles invited Quigley and the Bech family to their divisional round game on Jan. 19, which is where the players first met him. Nothing about that day felt inauthentic. Quigley had long conversations with Saquon Barkley, Zack Baun, and Will Shipley, among other players, and reconnected with them at the Super Bowl.

“I feel like the Eagles are truly family,” he said. “I feel like some of these guys are my best friends now.”

At first, Quigley was unsure if he’d ever return to New Orleans. But he’d promised his late friend that they would go to the Super Bowl together if the Eagles made it, and he wanted to make good on his promise.

So Quigley and the Bech family went — as guests of the Eagles — and made sure to highlight Bech in any way they could. Tiger was honored on the field before the game, and Quigley was quick to mention him in any conversations he had last weekend.

“Every time I would introduce myself, I’d just say, ‘Hey, my buddy Tiger, I just want to say a little bit about him,’” Quigley said. “‘Tell you about how he had so much positive energy and a smile on his face. And he’s looking down on all of us. I just want to tell you that he also says hello and nice to meet you.’

“Being back in New Orleans, it felt like I was winning. I felt like, for the longest time, like this guy who did this evil act kind of took my power away. But I went down there and I was like, ‘You’re not going to take my power from me.’ I felt like I was really taking my power back.

“It was a weekend filled with love and joy, with the best family and friends. And the Eagles made that happen.”

Unlike the other gestures — the divisional round game and the Super Bowl — Quigley joining the team on the parade route was not planned. But it was just as special, if not more. When he reached the area where the players were gathered, Barkley approached him.

“He said, ‘Oh, that’s my guy,’” Quigley said. “‘Good to see you, bro.’ And we were chatting for a minute, and then he asked me. He said, ‘You’re going to come up with me. We’re going to speak together.’”

Kenny Gainwell lifted Quigley out of his wheelchair. He hopped on one leg and situated himself between Barkley and the 25-year-old Eagles running back, leaning on them for support.

Quigley looked out to a sea of people staring back at him. He had a message in mind, but ended up “completely winging it.”

“What I was trying to say was that this city is all about overcoming adversity, and then do an Eagles chant,” Quigley said. “And then my adrenaline just took over.”

WIih his arms around his teammates, Quigley edged closer to the mic.

“This city overcomes [expletive],” he yelled.

“Same message,” Quigley said, laughing. “But it didn’t come out the way I wanted it to. It was surreal. What I should have been thinking about was what I was going to say when Saquon was talking. What I was doing was just looking out and just taking it all in.”

After the speeches were over, Quigley said a quick goodbye and thanked the players for an unforgettable afternoon. It is hard to articulate the impact this organization has had on him, but he tried to put it into words.

“It’s kept my mind off of some really dark things,” Quigley said. “I don’t even think they know the impact that they’ve had on the Bech family and myself, and how generous they’ve been. I don’t even know how to thank them, but I just know that we’re all going to be Eagles fans for life.”