Let’s jump in the time machine.
November 6th, 2018.
Mike McCarthy had a month left in his tenure as Packers head coach.
“Thank U Next” by Ariana Grande was bumping through your speakers.
And I was just about to meet Gene Mueller.
At the time, Good Karma Brands had just purchased WTMJ.
I was hosting a midday radio show on ESPN Milwaukee, with a revolving door of impermanent co-hosts.
Gene just so happened to draw the short straw on that Tuesday morning.
There was no pre-show meeting.
Hardly any show prep, but a quick email to a man I’d never met before.
Little did I know that show would be the start of a wonderful personal and professional relationship to unfold over the course of the next 4 years.
What I should’ve know is that the conversation would devolve into beer talk!
We talked sports, too, with Gene putting the proverbial kibash on Mike McCarthy a month before his firing.
The truth about that day is that I wasn’t nervous at all.
Having not grown up in Wisconsin, I was naive at the time to the radio legend I was fortunate enough to share the airwaves with that day.
That naivety exists no more.
Gene, I can’t begin to explain how fortunate I feel to have worked along side you daily for the past 3 years.
I’ve been able to be a sponge around one of the greatest to ever do it.
You welcomed me.
You were patient and kind with me as I found my sea legs on WTMJ.
I’m going to miss you and the quarterly pack of Labatt showing up on my desk at 3 a.m.
More than anything, though, I’m happy for you, and proud to call you a teammate and friend.
This has been sappy enough, so we’ll end it the same way we did on November 6th, 2018.
With a quick thanks and a see ya later.
