New Stage, Same Story for Fitzpatrick

When Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05’s college roommates hit him up for free tickets for Sunday’s Rams-Texans game in Houston’s Reliant Stadium, they weren’t actually expecting to see him play.

“They thought it would be cool to see me on the sideline,” said the current biggest storyline in professional football, formerly known as the Crimson’s star quarterback.

Instead, his roommates, the Rams, the Texans, and a national television audience were treated to a vintage Fitzpatrick performance. After replacing injured starter Jamie Martin in the second quarter, Fitzpatrick threw for 310 yards and three touchdowns, rallying the Rams from a 21-point deficit to a 33-27 overtime win.

It’s old hat to Harvard fans, who are used to seeing Fitzpatrick light up defenses and lead thrilling comebacks. The rest of the sports world, however, is only now taking notice of the former Crimson standout.

On the heels of Fitzpatrick’s NFL debut—the third-highest first-game passing performance in history—the media blitz has been unremitting. He has appeared on ESPN’s Cold Pizza, the Jim Rome Show, ESPN Radio, and NFL Sirius radio in addition to several national radio shows. SportsCenter ran continuous highlights of his game on Sunday evening. Analysts like Sports Illustrated’s Peter King have written about him in their columns, naming him Offensive Player of the Week and bestowing such praise as, “Ryan Fitzpatrick might not be a quarterback. He might be a movie.”

As a result of Fitzpatrick’s remarkable performance, Harvard football has gone from a punchline to a hot topic. Inquiring minds want to know where he came from and how someone with his talent has managed to stay under the radar.

According to Harvard Sports Information Director Chuck Sullivan, Crimson head coach Tim Murphy has already been interviewed about his former star on ESPN Radio and a St. Louis sports station. An interview with ESPN for a weekend segment is also in the works.

Fitzpatrick gave a nod to his Ivy roots when he told reporters after the game that he had looked to his experience leading 21-point comebacks—against Dartmouth in his first start in 2001 and against Brown his senior year—during Sunday’s game.

“I really was thinking about that,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was a neat little parallel. I’ve been in that situation—you either make a big play or do something to ignite the rest of the team.”

He said that the quickness of Martin’s injury meant that he didn’t have time to be nervous in his first snap on the big stage.

“It was just a regular football game,” Fitzpatrick said.

It’s been a busy few weeks for the 2004 Ivy Player of the Year, who turned 23 on Thanksgiving and last week became engaged to his college girlfriend, former Crimson women’s soccer captain Liza Barber ’05. The circus may continue if he gets the start for the Rams this Sunday against the Washington Redskins. Martin’s status post-concussion remains uncertain, though interim Rams coach Joe Vitt has not confirmed his starter.

“It’s still up in the air,” Fitzpatrick said.

Back in Cambridge, his former Harvard teammates aren’t surprised by Fitzpatrick’s success, surreal as it may be.

“You’re so used to seeing him wearing a Crimson jersey and throwing it to you,” said Crimson wide receiver Corey Mazza, who watched the game with 15 friends and teammates, “and now he’s throwing it to two All-Pro guys.”

It may have been a different uniform, but there was no mistaking the guy wearing it.

“The kid doesn’t know how to lose,” Mazza said.

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.