I stand corrected: Parity may be fading

Super Bowl XLII should have been seen as an aberration, not a sign of the times. The Patriots were 18-0 going into that game, and even though the Giants became the fourth team in four years to win the Super Bowl, it should have been clear that the balance of power had not really shifted.
Fast forward to last night, Super Bowl XLIII. I can hear Dennis Green this morning saying the Cardinals "let them off the hook". The Steelers, with yet another ludicrous comeback against a super-prevent defense, and the Patriots have now combined to win five of the past eight Super Bowls, and the joy of last season's game seems miles away.
Who besides those two teams, and perhaps the Colts and Chargers, feel that they have a chance to win the AFC next year? The NFC is wide open, but they are a cut below the AFC and don't figure to win as many Super Bowls as the AFC in the next decade or so.
The ending was brutal, because it was the underdogs that got kicked in the gut when it looked like they were destined for glory. It seems we now must allot at least one season out of every two or three for either the Steelers or Patriots to have their celebratory parades and what not. It was nice to see Jerome Bettis get his ring I suppose, but last night was not fun too watch. Dynasties are back in pro football until further notice.