Emotional weekend ahead for softball legend Finch
She wears dark glasses for interviews these days, hiding the tears you know are there.
The twilight of a career can have that affect on a professional athlete, but especially on one who has put her heart and soul into her profession on and off the field.
Jennie Finch, the icon of women's fastpitch softball and one of the most recognizable female athletes in the world, is closing out a playing career that has seen her win national championships as a young ASA player, a collegiate championship at the University of Arizona, Olympic gold and silver medals for Team USA, and a professional title as a member of the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro Fastpitch league.
Finch's final appearances in the Chicago area are this weekend at Judson University in Elgin, where she and the Bandits are trying to wrap up the NPF's regular season crown before heading to Sulphur, La., next weekend for the league's championship series, a trip that will be Finch's final as a competitive softball player.
"The emotions are there," said Finch, who is scheduled to pitch the Bandits' regular-season finale Sunday against the Tennessee Diamonds. "It's very sad, but as much as the sadness is there, there's also the competitive side and we've got two more weeks. I use that to overcome the sadness. We've still got a huge mission to accomplish."
For Bandits owner Bill Sokolis, there is no second to what Finch has meant to softball and to the Bandits.
"I don't know that there's anybody to date who has done what she's done for the game," Sokolis said. "She's not only been the premier player but the best ambassador the game could ask for. She's a role model above all role models and she's what every parent would like their daughter to be like."
Bandits coach Mickey Dean knows he had a special opportunity in being around Finch during the five years she has played for the Bandits her.
"For any coach to say they were able to coach one of the best players and the person who has had the biggest impact on the sport - well, there's not much more you can ask for," Dean said. "She puts herself out there every day for the sport. Some people say it's for the money, it's for the money. But she doesn't have to do this. She does it because she's a true role model and she loves it. The only other player who reminds me of her is Derek Jeter."
Finch's playing career speaks for itself. But what she has brought to women's sports goes above and beyond her softball talents. She became not only a sports symbol for women but a figure who was watched and admired by all sports fans regardless of gender. Her charismatic personality was sought after for late-night talk shows, reality shows and endorsements.
She never dreamed of becoming an international celebrity.
"Absolutely not," said Finch. "I was just a girl going after her dreams and I've loved every second of it. I couldn't have fathomed, imagined or dreamed of a better career.
"I'm a wife and a mother and I get to play softball as my job. I have to pinch myself over what I've been able to do and experience."
But now a new chapter is ready to unfold in Finch's life. The demands on her time and the constant worldwide travel will give way to spending more time with her husband, minor league pitcher Casey Daigle, and their 4-year old son Ace. Expanding that family is in the plans as well, but leaving the game of softball behind is not.
Sokolis revealed this week, and Finch confirmed, that she could end up a part owner of the Bandits.
"I'd love to," she said when asked about being involved in ownership. "I want to give as much as I can and the Bandits are very close to my heart. I've been with them since the beginning and I'd be honored to jump on board and have a role with them. I'm also looking forward to expanding my camps and clinics. They have become very special and close to my heart as well.
"I'm looking forward to the opportunities of the future."
A future that will most assuredly still have Jennie Finch's name associated with the game of fastpitch softball.