On the first big play of the Super Bowl, it was undeniably clear why Pat Summerall became the quintessential play-by-play man and why his time as Fox’s lead NFL announcer was up.

“Picked off,” Summerall intoned midway through the second quarter of his last game alongside boothmate John Madden. “Ty Law down the sideline. … Touchdown. … What the Patriots were waiting for.”

Sparse, exciting, perfect: just 14 words to tell viewers everything they needed to know.

Unfortunately, in the next breath, Summerall added: “The rush by (Willie) McGinest is what caused it.”

Actually, it was linebacker Mike Vrabel pressuring Rams quarterback Kurt Warner on the play, as Madden noted when a replay was shown.

This season was the last on Summerall’s contract with Fox, which paid tribute to him during the postgame show.

He announced Jan. 22 that this Super Bowl would be his final telecast with Madden, ending a 21-year partnership that started at CBS, moved to Fox in 1994, and evolved into the signature sound for pro football on TV. Summerall left open the possibility he will work with another partner at Fox or for another network.

Fox’s broadcast of the New England Patriots’ 20-17 victory over St. Louis Rams was the announcing pair’s eighth Super Bowl together.

Once again, Summerall and Madden reprised the roles millions of viewers have heard on Sunday after Sunday: Summerall providing the short, steady stream to Madden’s babbling brook. It’s a good thing for Summerall he didn’t get paid by the word and a good thing for Fox that Madden doesn’t.

A typical exchange, and the one real in-game acknowledgment of the 71-year-old Summerall’s swan song:

Madden: “Well, as we start our fourth quarter, Pat, it’s our last fourth quarter together, and I just want to say thanks for all the memories of a lot of great quarters.”

Summerall: “They have really been terrific.”

Madden: “Twenty-one years. Then you multiply all those years by all those games. Then you multiply that by all those quarters. It’s been very, very special, and you’ve made it very special.”

Summerall: “So have you, and I appreciate it.”

Summerall’s understated manner was contrasted during halftime by studio analyst Terry Bradshaw’s buffoonery. Bradshaw asked Paul McCartney to join him in singing “A Hard Day’s Night.” Bradshaw was too loud, too tone-deaf, and he butchered the lyrics, to boot.