Hi everyobody. I found this article startribune.com about the concert in Wahshington. Enjoy!!

Confessions of a Backstreet mom

Carrie Vill

Hi, my name is Carrie and I am a Backstreet Mom. I know that I'm not alone. There are many others like me -- hundreds, thousands. We go about our lives, working, raising children, minding our own business, and then we get hooked. We end up knowing more about Brian, Kevin, A.J., Nick and Howie than we do about half of our own family. This may or may not be a bad thing. Six months ago I barely knew the BackstreetBoys from the paper boy. (Come to think of it, a couple of the BackstreetBoys look a lot like the paper boy, only he doesn't have a record deal.) The next thing I knew, the Boys had crept up on me and staked out a piece of my brain. I'll admit that before the invasion of the BackstreetBoys, I had always liked a couple of their songs and could vaguely recognize their faces. But now, I know that Brian and Kevin are cousins and sang in the church choir, that Howie invests his savings in Florida real estate and that A.J. collects increasingly bizarre hats. Did I really need to know that Nick performed on "Star Search" as a child in a singing/gymnastics act called Nick and the Angels? I think the answer here is no.

How did this happen? Some argue that this may be a throwback to our days as fans of the Beatles or the Monkees, or any of the boy groups of the '60s and '70s. (Might as well throw David Cassidy in there, too.) If so, I am guilty as charged. Or maybe it's a mother/child bonding thing. My 9-year-old daughter, Julia, couldn't be happier when I choose to put "Millennium" in the CD player. We've had many conversations about the merits of each Boy's voice and hair style.

Could you be a Backstreet Mom, too? If you are a mom, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do you turn the radio up (way up) when a BackstreetBoys song is played? Even when you are alone?

2. Do you own any of their CDs, publications or paraphernalia? Have you even read the liner notes?

3. Can you tell the difference between the BackstreetBoys and N' Sync or any other band of five young men from Orlando?

4. Do you know what A.J. stands for?

5. Do you know who's the oldest? Who's the youngest? Who's most in need of a makeover?

6. Did you sit on the phone and/or computer when (or before) tickets went on sale for their current tour? (You get extra points if you waited in line.)

7. Can you catch the grammatical errors in the lyrics of "All I Have to Give?" (Hey, I'm a mom.)

8. Do you care?

More than one affirmative response to these questions qualifies you as a Backstreet Mom. Welcome aboard the bandwagon. We'll be heading down to Target Center tonight.

Now, if I could only find a way to get floor seats . . . or better yet, a couple of backstage passes. . . .

-- Carrie Vill, of Wayzata, will be sitting with her daughter in the lower level at one end of the Target Center tonight when the boys take the stage.

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