Jaeger: Blogging About Olympic Times

The air is thick with Olympian pride today in Fair Haven.

The Summer Olympics 2012 opening ceremony is tonight in London and the town is like one proud parent beaming over its Olympian swimmer son Connor Jaeger.

There are Connor's actual parents ...

His father, Eric, spoke in the family's stead this morning, saying, "We feel nothing but pride, for Connor, for our town, the community and Team USA. We spoke yesterday ... He's ready!"

Then there are the town surrogates ...

The Fair Haven Facebook page's cover photo is and has been one of Jaeger signs of pride or Connor himself since he made the Olympic swim team cut. The page's administrator, Doug Newman, has even changed his profile shot to one of Connor Jaeger swimming.

Lifetime Fair Haven resident Tom Kirman has kept tabs on when Connor is swimming (Aug. 3 between 5:24 and 6:47 a.m., with a medal round Aug. 4 at 2:36 a.m.); and, Karen Halfacre Foxworth has the scoop on livestreams.

"Those are actual times," she said about Kirman's post on the Facebook page. "To see the events then, you have to register for live streaming at www.nbcolympics.com. Television is tape delayed because of the time difference."

Tavolo Pronto — the family's favorite Fair Haven restaurant that many times has fed the Olympian —  is adorned with a custom-made sign in ode to its restaurant family member. And, according to Connor's parents, it's likely their son is craving some chicken parmigiana from the hometown spot where mom Bernadette routinely picked up his favorite before-meet food.

More signs pepper prominent town spots and townie buzz is blatant. Yes, Fair Haven is one big proud parent.

Jaeger’s parents don’t mind sharing the role. In fact, they’re just as proud to be a part of the community where they and their son live. "Overwhelmed" with pride and gratitude is how mom Bernadette Jaeger described her feelings in a recent interview — pride in being a Fair Haven resident at times like this and gratitude for the embracing love and support of the community. 

"My feeling is PURE GRATITUDE for the town's excitement, encouragement and kindness put forth for Connor and felt by us, his family and friends," Bernadette said in an emailed message. "GRATITUDE is our word of the month!"

Dad Eric sent out a casual, but proud email this morning: "They posted the Heat Sheets last night. Connor will swim in Heat 3, Lane 3. The event begins at 10:24 a.m. UK time so his heat should start around 10:54 a.m. or 5:54 a.m. Eastern time. Get your Starbucks early!"

And, while Jaeger, according to his parents and Twitter feeds, is unfazed and unaffected by the enormity of it all, he’s still pretty pleased to be a part of American sports history and figures it’s something to blog about, dad Eric Jaeger told Patch.

So, the 21-year-old Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School graduate and student at Michigan University accepted an invitation to start a blog under the Big Ten Olympic Journal umbrella, taking note of his and his fellow Olympians’ experiences at http://btn.com/2012/07/18/olympic-journal-when-in-france-eat-well-swim-hard/. The Big Ten Network (BTN) "tracks the Big Ten names competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics," according to information on the blog page.

Being as modest as his son is described, dad Eric forwarded the link wondering if people would be interested. Patch's answer: a firm "yes."

Though Connor has been training in London since July 23, according to his Twitter feeds, the only things he's tweeted about are the fact that the sun was out in London and just when everyone's asleep, casual fireworks fill the London air: "Has the weather ever been this nice in London? ... Casual fireworks start as soon as everyone is asleep."

With a promise of more to come, Connor's blog started and stopped recently, due to the hectic pre-opening Olympic schedule, with his experience training in Vichy, France.

Here's an excerpt:

“Yesterday we walked past a building that used to be an old bathhouse. The mineral water in Vichy’s thermal springs is known to have healing properties. All of the signs and reading material around the bathhouse were in French but thanks to Davis and his translation skills, this is what we think the signs said: Napoleon came to Vichy, he saw the thermal springs, and he cannon-balled right in, thus declaring the bathhouse as his own.

“The facility where we train has probably my favorite pool that I’ve ever used. Along the walls and the bottom of the pool is this metallic reflective material that looks really cool with the sun shining on it during the day. The pool is located just on the outskirts of Vichy on top of a hill and you have a great view of a more rural area with more old houses and a race horse training facility. Yesterday I got out of our morning workout and looked on with Jon Urbanchek at the horses racing each other as they began their own workout. Jon said we were work horses watching race horses."

Though the Olympic swimmer seemed fascinated with the horses in France, it's safe to say that he probably won't be making it home for the annual Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on Sunday. 

From Fair Haven to London, your hometown is standing proud for you, Connor!