Cubs manager David Ross has led an interesting life. Here are seven things to know about him

When you talk to Chicago Cubs manager David Ross, a few things strike you immediately about him.

He’s very easy to talk to. He comes across as a relatable person despite living a high-profile life.

He’s a great storyteller. If you ask him a question, you’re going to get a real answer and not some canned fluff.

And he’s interesting. He won World Series titles with baseball’s two most cursed teams — the Cubs and the Boston Red Sox — he’s been on Dancing with the Stars, he’s appeared on Saturday Night Live and he’s held audience with former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

If Dos Equis began casting again, he’d have to be in consideration for “the Most Interesting Man in the World.”

Recently, he appeared “The *State* of Florida Sports Podcast,” powered by the USA TODAY Network, and talked about the upcoming season, what’s he’s been up to in the offseason, why loves a good polar plunge and how winning the World Series with the Cubs has profoundly changed his life.

Here are seven takeaways from that interview.

And be sure to listen to the entire thing in the player below:

A polar plunge for charity has turned into a routine

Ross took part in a polar plunge for charity in Chicago and he found he liked it.

“I keep seeing how many benefits there are on the daily for getting into a cold plunge,” he said.

Being in Tallahassee, Ross doesn’t quite see Chicago-like temperatures, but he does go in the pool or a cold shower when it’s around 50 degrees for several minutes.

“It's not like some of these people that are doing like 32, 35, 37 degrees,” he said.

Ross says he does it early to help kickstart his day.

“I enjoy it. It gives me energy, wakes me up and kind of a nice refresher to start my day,” he said. “I feel like it really fires me up to start my workout in the morning.”

He lives in FSU Country but wasn’t kind to the Seminoles

Ross played his first two years of college baseball at Auburn in 1996 and 97.

He had his defining moment in the semifinal of the East Regional tournament during the 1997 College World Series when he hit a walk-off three-run home run against Florida State to advance to the regional final.

Auburn advanced to the College World Series, but got knocked out in the second round by Stanford.

He transferred to the University of Florida after that season, where he played for the Gators in 1998.

“They treat me pretty good here," Ross says of his hometown. "I definitely hear stories from people still telling me about that home run at Auburn and going to Florida and you know, I've got some Gator friends too. So they backed me up here and there. But I grew up watching FSU, my high school was on the campus at Florida State. ... Some people still give me a hard time, but I think it's all in fun."

Strange coincidence with Brad Wilkerson

During the podcast, I asked Ross about the 1998 Florida Gators team, which was loaded with future MLB talent.

One such player was Brad Wilkerson.

Ross deemed Wilkerson “one of the best players in college baseball,” which was a true statement, especially for that season.

The oddity was this: about an hour after Ross and I held our conversation, Wilkerson was named the new hitting coach for the New York Yankees.

His ears must have been burning.

Ross hit his first HR against a former Cubs great first baseman

Ross made his Major League debut in the summer of 2002 for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He hit his first home run about nine weeks later against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

However, it wasn’t a fast baller, a knuckleballer or a closer he homered off of — it was first baseman Mark Grace — the longtime former Chicago Cub — who came in for relief in a blowout.

“He spoke really highly of me when he was in the broadcast booth there. He's called me the best hitter on any of the teams that I played on, which was definitely not the case,” Ross joked. “I'm super thankful that it was off him because it just gives such a great story and one that's unique to anybody.”

Ross says he hopes Grace will be inducted into the Hall of Fame some day.

Even Michelle Obama had a story of thanks for Ross

When David Ross and the 2016 Chicago Cubs won the World Series, they didn’t just win it for a city. Or a region. They won it for generations of fans nationwide, impacting more people than they can comprehend.

A 108-year-old curse had been lifted. Countless Cubs fans had been born and passed on without seeing this team win. So when they finally won, millions of people reminisced on deceased loved ones who watched Cubs game but didn’t get to see this happy ending.

Many more shared stories of going to Cubs games or watching them on WGN and what this team meant to them, including one very high profile person.

“I remember going to the White House and Barack Obama, we all know was a really big White Sox fan being from Chicago,” Ross said. “But Michelle came into the room before we went to meet the press and told a story about rushing home from school to watch Cubs games with her dad. And she got emotional and teared up and told us how much that meant to her and how she was rooting for us as she watched it so, you know, it's those types of stories.”

DWTS was like another job

In March 2017, just a few months after winning the World Series and retiring, Ross joined “Dancing with the Stars.”

He didn’t win, but did finish runner-up, not bad for a catcher who had been wearing his knees down for iore than two decades.

“It definitely was a great life experience, but it was a lot of hard work,” he recalled. “You know, I think the lightest day I had was like a seven-hour day of just dancing.”

Fired up for fourth season as Cubs manager

Ross was hired to be the Cubs manager prior to the 2020 season, taking over for the manager he played for on the 2016 World Series team – Joe Maddon.

For Ross, it’s been a dream come true, and he can’t wait to get out to Arizona for spring training leading into the 2023 season.

During the podcast he rattled off all the free agents signings, returning players and young players to watch, so be sure to stick with the podcast top the end to get his breakdown.

“I think we're gonna be an exciting team to watch,” he said. “I love the athleticism we have up the middle and especially with the shift being gone and we've added some speed and we got really good baseball players, high IQ, great character guys that are going to come in and work hard and compete every single day.”

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Seven things to know about Chicago Cubs manager David Ross