January 5, 2002

     Folks of Manchester, Connecticut honored Hannafins over death of their relative in WTC tragedy.

     The next time you happen to be passing through Manchester, Conn., which sits just east of Hartford, make sure you give the folks of that town a warm, New York hello.
     The Notre Dame Academy basketball team spent three days over the recent Christmas break playing in the East Catholic HS Shootout, which, in itself is nothing unusual. Most Island high school teams travel during the break, and this would be the second time NDA made the trip to the quiet New England town.
     However, Notre Dame coaches John and Maureen Hannafin received a phone call two weeks before the tournament that would have a profound effect on the Hannafin family and the Gator players.
     John's brother Tom was lost in the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11 amd left behind a wife, Rene, and two children, 6-year old Kayla and 3-year-old Thomas. The Hannafin name did not escape the eye of East Catholic coach Nick Economopolous, the man who runs the yearly tournament.
     "Nick said he was reading through the names of the victims and remembered us from the year before," explained Maureen Hannifin. "He wanted to know if Tom was a relative. When I told him that Tom was John's brother, he asked that we invite Rene and the kids up to the tournament. Rene said yes, and none of us thought much about it until we got to Connecticut."
     When the Hannafins and the NDA team showed up at the East Catholic gym, they were astounded. The entire complex was decorated in red, white and blue banners, balloons and American flags. Right in the middle was a picture of Tom, with the words "Tom Hannafin, an American hero."
     "We were all in shock," said Maureen. "It was a very emotional moment."
     Before the tournament started, Rene was presented with a check for $1,300, and Kayla and Thomas received gifts from the East Catholic players.
     The man responsible for it all - Nick Economopolous - stood nearby.
     "The players had already decided we were going to try and do something for the victim's families in New York before I saw Tom's name in the paper," Economopolous explained. "When I found out it was John's brother, that made it even more personal. Instead of giving money to a charity, we decided to concentrate on the Hannafin family. When the girls on the team found out Tom was an ex-basketball player, they really went to work. They printed up profiles of Tom's life and posted them all over town. Supermarkets, barber shops, gas stations, they didn't miss anything.
     "Then, they went over to the University of Connecticut and got sweatshirts, banners and dolls from the UConn basketball program and gave them to Rene and the children."
     Economopolous, the 52-year-old father of four and foster parent of two other children, is originally from Waterbaury, L.I., and was rightfully proud of his team.
     "Once the girls got their minds set on what they wanted to do, you couldn't stop them," the coach admitted. "They got the entire town involved."
     As for the Hannafin family and members of the Notre Dame team, it was an experience to remember.
     "It was a beautiful weekend," Maureen Hannafin said. "The games were an afterthought. I can't describe how those people in Connecticut made us feel."

     Webmaster note: This article, from Christmas 2001, recently came to my attention. It seems appropriate to publish it on our site for the 2002 holiday season.