By now, you all should know that I am an optimistic person. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that I believe in the power of the human spirit to overcome incredible obstacles, and that without an optimistic attitude one might never try… let alone succeed, in overcoming incredible odds. The Miracle on Ice would have never happened if the coach and players had said “We are realists. We know that they are better than us and that the odds of winning are not very good. We aren’t pessimists. We are realists. We know they are better than us.