Neil Cavuto: 2003 -- The year of the optimist

This is the time of year journalists begin comprising their list of big events. The stories that shaped our lives and the individuals who shaped those stories over the past year.

I'm not really big into lists. I have a hard enough time remembering what I had for breakfast. I am big into big picture things; sometimes dopey things, but for me, meaningful things.

When I look back on 2003, I will remember not just a war or a captured tyrant, I will remember a theme. For my money, in my mind, and in my heart, this was the year of the optimist. He triumphed.

He triumphed over those who thought we'd only see more bad news, who suspected the worst, when he hoped for the best.

He saw a stock market that had piled up three years of losses and concluded that it was due one year of gain. He was right.

He saw a war in Iraq that claimed too many American lives but saw the greater good of their sacrifice. He was right.

He saw the tyranny of a dictator named Saddam, who some said we should leave well enough alone, and the benefit of removing that dictator, when no one thought we could. And he was right.

He was not prescient enough to know when we would find Saddam, only that we would. And he was right.

He was silly enough to think America meant it when it said it would hunt down terrorists. And he was right.

He was confident enough to know crooked CEOs would be chased down, but they wouldn't drag down all the CEOs who weren't crooked. And he was right.

He was naive enough to believe a mutual fund scandal affecting some well-known names didn't mean it was an indictment of all names. And he was right.

He was Yankee Doodle Dandy enough to sing his country's praises and know its potential, rather than debate its merits, and suspect its motives. And he was right.

He was right to believe giving people their money back would help this economy come back.

He was right to smile, looking forward to the future, when pessimists around him moaned and complained about the future.

He saw a world where freedom rang and evil bowed, where good people didn't forget bad deeds, and wouldn't forget bad days, like Sept. 11.

He knew that the sum of our hopes trumped the sum of our fears; that the greatest generation would be very proud of the next generation and the next generation after that.

Because markets do go up. Economies do improve. People do spend. And despots do fall.

The latter made all the difference this past year . . . not by promising cheap cheer to those who couldn't see it. But by knowing there was something to cheer in the first place, if only pessimists took the time to see it.

Rank	Location	Receipts	Donors/Avg	Freepers/Avg	Monthlies
25	Alabama	70.00	2	35.00	215	0.33	279.50	17

Colts 38, Buccaneers 35, OT

FRED GOODALL, AP Sports Writer Tuesday, October 7, 2003

(10-07) 01:59 PDT TAMPA, Fla. (AP) --

One of the greatest comebacks in NFL history wiped the stoic look off Tony Dungy's face.

The Indianapolis Colts rallied from a three-touchdown deficit in the last four minutes of regulation, then beat Tampa Bay 38-35 on Mike Vanderjagt's second-chance field goal in overtime Monday night.

"I've never been in one quite like this, where we were so far down and shooting ourselves in the foot and getting to the point where you almost thought you were out of it," Dungy said. "You get 21 points behind these guys, it's tough to visualize coming back and winning. But nobody on our sideline gave up."

The victory was especially sweet for Dungy, who was fired by the Bucs in January 2002 after six successful seasons.

Celebrating his 48th birthday on his first trip back to Raymond James Stadium, the coach looked right at home walking around the field, shaking hands, exchanging greetings and chatting with former players and assistants during pregame warmups.

"It's got to be incredibly great for him after being here for so many years," Colts defensive end Chad Bratzke said. "He was really happy after the game, as you can imagine. How couldn't you be?"

Peyton Manning threw for 386 yards, two touchdowns and one interception that Tampa Bay's Ronde Barber returned 29 yards for a 35-14 lead with just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Instead of folding, the Colts -- 5-0 for the first time since 1977 -- became the first team in NFL history to win after trailing by 21 or more points with under four minutes to play in regulation.

James Mungro scored on a 3-yard run with 3:37 left, and Manning threw a 28-yard scoring pass to Marvin Harrison to trim it to 35-28 with 2:29 to go.

The normally stringy Tampa Bay defense, which allowed only one TD in its first three games, suddenly didn't have any answers as Manning sent the game into overtime, leading an 85-yard drive capped by Ricky Williams' 1-yard run with 35 seconds left.

Manning launched the winning drive in overtime from his own 13 and kept the march alive with third-down completions to Harrison, Reggie Wayne and Troy Walters.

In overtime, Vanderjagt's first attempt -- from 40 yards -- sailed right. But Tampa Bay's Simeon Rice was called for leaping and landing on a teammate, and the kicker -- a perfect 13-for-13 this season -- got another chance.

"The call was leaping," referee Johnny Grier said. "Leaping is a player starting more than 1 yard off the line of scrimmage and running forward and landing on players."

Vanderjagt made the second kick -- barely, with the ball banging off the right upright and through after being deflected at the line by a Tampa Bay player.

Dungy was as surprised as Manning to score so many points against one of the NFL's top defenses.

"These guys just never gave up. That's what I like about us," Dungy said. "We've got great chemistry and I just had a feeling the Lord was going to do something, and he certainly did."

A week after throwing for 314 yards and six TDs in a 55-21 rout of New Orleans, Manning completed 34 of 47 passes against a secondary that played most of the night without injured cornerback Brian Kelly. Harrison, who caught a 37-yard TD pass early in the third quarter, finished with 11 receptions for 176 yards.

"A lot of those plays, I tip my hat to Manning," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "He made some miraculous throws, and they made some incredible catches."

Brad Johnson threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns for Tampa Bay (2-2), which dropped to 0-2 at home.

Keenan McCardell caught two TD passes and scooped up an Indianapolis fumble and returned it 57 yards for another score for Tampa Bay, which looked as though it would ruin Dungy's homecoming when it took a 21-0 halftime lead.

McCardell caught TD passes of 74 and 15 yards from Brad Johnson. He was in the right place at the right time when safety Mike Doss fumbled after intercepting a poorly thrown pass.

"A lot of guys put their heart on the line out there, and we just came up short," McCardell said. "You have to give (Indianapolis) a lot of credit. They fought, they stayed in it, and they won."

Notes:

McCardell's 74-yard TD reception was the longest of his career. ... Michael Pittman ran for 106 yards on 16 carries, his first 100-yard game in the regular season for the Bucs. ... Tampa Bay had a final chance to win at the end of regulation, but Martin Gramatica's 62-yard field-goal attempt was tipped and fell just beyond the line of scrimmage. He also missed a 60-yarder at the end of the first half.

Was it the year of the optimist? Hell yeah it was!

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