It’s been said that friendship at first sight, like love at first sight, is the only truth. The bond between Sammy Hagar and Guy Fieri is a testament to that.
Both vividly recall the fated moment they met. The year was 1998. Or was it 1999? Whatever: they’re clear on everything else. Time is just a construct anyway, right? Former Van Halen front man Hagar announced a promotion: whoever sold the most Cabo Wabo — the tequila he launched in 1996 (the same year he left Van Halen, incidentally) — in Northern California could come backstage and not only meet the Red Rocker himself but win a signed guitar.
Way back when, Fieri was not the restaurateur, author, documentarian, Emmy Award-winning television host or Donkey Sauce creator he is today. The Next Food Network Star, which catapulted him to fame and fortune in 2006, was almost a decade in the future. He was just a guy who owned a few restaurants — the highly successful chain Johnny Garlic’s California Pasta Grill. He was a die-hard fan of Hagar’s (whom he’d met only in passing at fan meet and greets), and he was determined to win. Basically, there was no contest: that guitar was his.
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