For Sunset Elementary fifth-grader Haynes Worthen, Monday morning was like Christmas morning.
That is because Worthen won an essay contest about the importance of eating breakfast. The grand prize was a visit from 49ers quarterback and former Ute Alex Smith. Smith picked Worthen up for school in a limo, and the two ate breakfast together.
Wearing an Alex Smith 49ers jersey and nervously speaking to the school's student body, Worthen said waiting to meet his hero was exactly how he feels on Christmas Eve. In his winning essay he wrote about how Sunset Elementary's free breakfast program has impacted his life, helping him to have energy and allowing him to concentrate in class.
"Every second felt like a day (waiting to meet Smith)," Worthen said. "It was like a dream come true."
Smith talked to the elementary students about the importance of eating breakfast, answered questions from students and teachers and gave out footballs, jerseys and hats. The event was sponsored by the Utah Dairy Farmers.
"It's hard to put into words the kind of feeling it puts in you," Smith said. "It's definitely surreal, one of the cooler things I've done. I'll probably remember this for a long, long time."
The question-answer session led to some interesting exchanges between the students and Smith.
On his favorite football memory: For Smith, it wasn't winning the Fiesta Bowl. Instead, it was Utah's 52-21 thrashing of BYU in its 2004 regular season finale to clinch the BCS bowl berth. "I had to throw a jab in there some way — you know, take advantage of an opportunity," Smith said afterward.
Smith said he hopes to attend law school one day, and he stressed the importance of academics to the young students.
— Andrew Aragon