Lifelong Friends Come Back to ASU for Salute to Service Game

TEMPE, Ariz. – Al Fuentes sits on a cushioned patio outdoor sofa at the Mission Palms Hotel in Tempe on a crisp Saturday afternoon before the UCLA vs. Arizona State football game. His left arm extends over the top of the chair with two lifelong friends on either side. The smile underneath his mustache is almost a permanent fixture as decades-long stories are shared. 

The stories may get old, but the memories live on forever. Few understand that better than Fuentes.
 

Fuentes, 71, was a New York City Fire Department Captain when the Sept. 11 terror attacks occurred. He raced from the Brooklyn Navy Yard without hesitation after the first plane hit the World Trade Center South Tower. Fuentes and other firefighters ran into a nearby hotel after the South Tower collapsed, seeking to find people trapped in the rubble.

Soon thereafter, the North Tower collapsed and debris buried Fuentes and countless others. 

He was one of the few who miraculously survived after a group of firefighters pulled him from the rubble a few hours later. 

Fuentes was the last person pulled from the rubble alive.

He was rushed to a hospital in Jersey City in a medically-induced coma – one he would be in for weeks – with a fractured skull, collapsed lung, broken ribs, and other injuries.

"I was given another shot," Fuentes said. "I learned to love life, to wake up every day and say, 'wow, how lucky am I?'"

A Bond Born From Tragedy

After Fuentes emerged from the coma, Bob Hurley Sr. – the father of Arizona State men's basketball head coach Bobby Hurley – reached out to him. The eldest Hurley, who is just four years older than Fuentes, found out that he liked basketball and their bond grew.

And that's where the bond between a legendary high school boys basketball coach and a Sept. 11th hero began.

Hurley Sr. coached at St. Anthony's High School in Jersey City, NJ, where he led the program to 26 state basketball titles. He produced over 150 Division I men's basketball players in his 45 years as head coach. 

Hurley Sr., his wife, and Fuentes and his wife went to dinner where most of the dialogue was about their biggest common interest: basketball. Like Hurley, Fuentes was a basketball coach, too, coaching CYO for St. Sebastian's in Woodside, N.Y.

He invited Fuentes to talk to one of his teams. It was not just to talk about his heroic efforts but to inspire them to leave it all on the court.

An Opportunity Comes Full Circle

A few months ago, Fuentes and a group of about 45 friends were looking for a college football game to attend as part of their yearly tradition. 

Jimmy Powers, the leader of the group's yearly college football expedition since it began in 1992, passed away last year. The group wanted to honor him by returning to where it all started: Arizona State. 

And that's when it dawned on Fuentes:

"Oh my goodness, I think Bobby Hurley coaches there," he recalled.

Just like he did at St. Anthony's High School, Fuentes gave a passionate speech to a Hurley-led team. His words were an eloquent combination of passion and sincerity, selflessly reflecting his heroism to traits that the Sun Devils can show on the basketball court.
 

The @SunDevilHoops team shake hands with members of the Catholic War Veterans following a Saturday morning practice. pic.twitter.com/vjHPRFI7Gi

— Sean Lynch (@SeanLynch845) November 5, 2022

"It's all about heart, and you guys have that," he said. "It's the little things you do. You dive for the ball, you go after that rebound, and that is what it's all about. If you follow that, at the end of the day, you can look in the mirror and like what you see. Nobody can beat you because nobody will work harder than you. Some teams may have more talent than you, but you'll leave it out on the court – just like my 343 brothers did (on Sept. 11). They left it all out there."

Fuentes' speech was particularly touching to Bobby Hurley, who was born and raised a few miles from where the Sept. 11 terror attacks occurred.

"It was a touching speech that he gave to our team and just his experiences, how heroic he was, and the courage he showed in the darkest moment," Hurley said. "To be able to do what he did – saving all of those lives – there's not a more impressive person I've ever had the chance to meet."

The Woodside Way

Fuentes and 44 others were at Arizona State University for the Salute to Service game on Saturday versus UCLA. Most of them have attended college football games yearly together for almost 30 years. Their first game was on Oct. 31, 1992, when ASU took on USC. Saturday's game versus UCLA is the fourth time the group has made it to Sun Devil Stadium. 

The group started with just four people at its inaugural football trip and has grown every year since. 

"A lot of us played CYO basketball and Pop Warner Football together and from there, we just kind of developed a bond," Matt Costello said. "Everybody went on their own different road, but yet we've all been able to come back together. I guess it's fun memories of your childhood and the bonds that you made when you were younger (that brings us back together)."

Costello organized most events on the first trip since Jimmy Powers' passing. The group took a walkthrough of Sun Devil Stadium, the Sun Devil Football Center and watched an Arizona State men's basketball practice.

Most of them grew up in Woodside, NY, a small working-class neighborhood on the west side of Queens in New York City. Many Irish families emigrated to Woodside in the late 19th century, and the area became approximately 80% Irish by the mid-1930s. The Irish influx into the small neighborhood in Queens continued for over 50 years due to the economic decline in Ireland. 

During that span, many generational friendships were born between Irish-American families. Many bars popped up around the city, small businesses blossomed and many began their careers as police officers and firefighters.

Many of those who immigrated to Woodside in the late 19th century registered for the draft and were selected for the Spanish-American War. Decades later, many of their sons registered and enlisted in the Vietnam War. Twenty-one men from Woodside were killed in the Vietnam War.

"As we got into the late 60s and early 70s, Vietnam happened," Costello said. "A lot of guys got shipped overseas and started moving out of the neighborhood. So it was a time of transition for us. The majority of us would probably be anywhere from 18-to-42. But we still kept in touch with each other."

Bringing the Band Back Together

Throughout the years, the group has migrated to other places. Some live in Florida, California, Connecticut and other places around the country. Traveling to college football games has given the group reasons to look back on old memories but to create new ones, too. 

"One of my favorite things about going to the games is watching the future NFL talent," said group member Jim Lavan. "You always have a tendency to follow the college players who get drafted to the NFL and see how they play out."

Generational friendships that began in a small, close-knit neighborhood in Queens are still strong. No matter how far apart their journeys took them, the bond they have is stronger than ever. And on a beautiful November evening, they find themselves back where the yearly expedition began 30 years ago: Sun Devil Stadium.