Guerrero ready to "Rock" after inspirational phone call
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John Fuller (TheMat.com)
08/19/2004
Eric Guerrero (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC), a wrestler that worked so hard to earn an Olympic birth, heard from a fan he didn't know he had on Tuesday night - Atlantic Records artist Kid Rock. Kid Rock called Guerrero on his Athens cell phone at 1 a.m. Athens time (6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time) to congratulate him on making the Olympic Team and to wish him good luck in his competition. Guerrero, originally from San Jose, Calif., will compete August 28 at the Ano Liossa Olympic Hall in Athens. If he wins his pool, he will also compete on the 29th, the same day as the Closing Ceremonies. The pair has many things in common, including their love for fishing and hunting. But it was the Olympics that Kid Rock wanted to talk to Guerrero about. "It was definitely the media highlight of my career," Guerrero said after the phone call. "We talked about a few things. I asked him what he does on his day off and then he wished me luck and said 'Go USA!'" "He was real nice," Guerrero added. Guerrero and the rest of the men's freestyle Olympic wrestling team took Tuesday off to relax. The team will resume practice at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the American College of Greece. Guerrero is a four-time U.S. National champion in men's freestyle competition, and he has competed in three World Championships, placing seventh in 1999 and 10th in 2003. As a collegian at Oklahoma State Univ., Guerrero won three NCAA individual titles and earned All-American status all four years. Kid Rock is currently on a world tour. He will next perform in Duluth, Minn. on August 19 at the D.E.C.C. Arena. On the first night that Guerrero can compete, Kid Rock will perform in Clarkston, Mich., just a few miles from his hometown of Detroit, Mich. Long a fan of Olympic sports and its individual athletes, Kid Rock jumped at the chance to contact Guerrero. For more information on Kid Rock, visit www.KidRock.com or www.Atlantic-Records.com.