Longtime ESPN reporter Marty Smith has covered countless hard-hitting topics throughout his tenure at the network. But on Monday during College GameDay ahead of the National Championship, Smith had a hard time holding back his emotions shortly after his segment about a victim of the New Orleans terror attack.
Ahead of the highly anticipated matchup between Notre Dame and Ohio State on Monday, a six-minute segment aired about former Princeton football player Martin Bech Jr., better known as Tiger Bech, who was one of the 14 victims of the New Orleans terror attack earlier this month.
The segment featured comments from Bech’s entire family on how his nickname stemmed from the family fandom of the LSU Tigers and Bech’s upbringing in Lafayette, Louisiana.
It also unfortunately featured some heartbreaking testimony from the family about his passing on New Year’s Day when he and his Princeton teammate Ryan Quigley traveled to the French Quarter New Orleans to celebrate on New Year’s Eve night.
Tiger Bech was an All-Ivy League kick returner at Princeton. He was a brother, a son, a teammate and a best friend. He was also a victim of the attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
Those close to him share who Tiger was and his enduring legacy.
(via @MartySmithESPN) pic.twitter.com/uYm3R2we8c
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 20, 2025
Following the segment, Marty Smith provided some further information about the death of Bech with an on-field report from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta where he understandably fought back tears about the senseless attack.
“In the chaotic aftermath of the Bourbon Street terror that claimed 14 innocent lives, the Bech family tells me they received misinformation that Tiger had saved someone’s life that evening,” said Smith. “They received that information from authorities and other sources. They now know that was inaccurate information. They did tell me to please make sure that anything that had to do with Tiger that evening on Bourbon Street was properly represented this evening.
“They also told me that the FBI informed them that Tiger never saw that truck coming. Although he did live for a bit longer after he was hit, hopefully, he did not suffer. That gives them some semblance of peace throughout this awful moment for the Bech family. I’ve listened to “Freebird” this week my friends and I will tell you the last couple from the last stanza… Tiger had to be moving on. There was more he had to see. More College GameDay ahead.”
An emotional Marty Smith reporting after this segment on College GameDay. ❤️ https://t.co/3YF1nLMKPb pic.twitter.com/PJJetnUk5A
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 20, 2025
While this moment was clearly tough for Smith to get through, it was certainly a beautiful tribute to the life of Tiger Bech.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.