Fitzpatrick: Elizabeth Warren of the gridiron?

No, it’s not Senator Scott Brown and Elizabeth Warren - it’s Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who is set to face former Harvard star and Bills starter Ryan Fitzpatrick on Sunday. Fitzpatrick, who quarterbacked the Crimson to an Ivy championship in 2004 and then spent years as a third-stringer in the NFL waiting for his big break, is riding a streak of two impressive victories into the match-up in Buffalo.

In the world of politics, Republicans have been busy trying to paint Warren as a Harvard elitist, as if the mere association with the university where she is a law school professor were disqualifying. So forget steroids; has Fitzpatrick been tested for arugula?

If it seems a little absurd to judge Fitzpatrick on his alma mater, it’s a reminder that the attacks on Warren’s Ivy ties are no less relevant. As in football, in politics it’s performance that matters. They’ll both rise, or - as Fitzpatrick is likely to discover on Sunday - fall on their merits.