Though The Ritterbusch Group has its offices in Southeastern Wisconsin, two of its employees—myself and Marc Whitney—and our president Chad Ritterbusch, are diehard Chicago Cubs fans. And, with the calendar turning over to October and the Cubs positioned as true post-season contenders, Cubs Fever is running high in the TRG offices.
All three of us grew up in Chicagoland, and our Cubs fandom runs deep.
I spent the summer of 1969 with a transistor radio pressed up against my ear, hoping for a World Series run and having my hopes dashed by the Miracle Mets. I also attended the first night game at Wrigley in 1988, and spent my high school senior ditch day at the Friendly Confines.
Whitney worked as an Andy Frain usher through high school and college, including the magical Summer of 1984. While there, he got to know the ins and outs of the ballpark, and experienced all the ups and downs of Wrigley Field weather and the Cubs’ crazed (and knowledgeable) fan base for many summers.
Ritterbusch grew up with grandparents who set their calendars by when the Cubs were playing on WGN, learning the names and batting averages of Cubs players at his grandfather’s knee.
And Wrigley Field is where we would rather be than almost anywhere else on Earth.
So, if we seem a little distracted here over the next few weeks, we hope you’ll understand. And, if this is, finally, “Next Year,” well, we might leave the office in the hands of our non-Cubs fan colleagues for a day this fall while we join our people in the Windy City for the biggest party the City of Big Shoulders has ever seen.
