Look! It's the NKOTB n' me!

Admittedly, I'm going to sound like a sixth-grade girl (from 1989) when I say this, but here goes: I MET THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK ON SATURDAY!!!Yes, that's (from left) Joe McIntyre, Danny Wood, Donnie Wahlberg, me looking all sun-burned, Jordan Knight and Jonathan Knight!

Just about 20 years since they first hit it big with "Please Don't Go Girl" and I became a fan, I was one of a select few to actually meet the guys before they headlined Saturday's Z100 "Zootopia" concert at the Izod Center in NJ.

Out of the thousands of people who packed the Meadowlands parking lot for the pre-show Z-Village festival (seen here), I was able to get backstage for a meet-and-greet with the guys, fulfilling a 20-year dream thanks, in great part, to my loving and supportive GF, without whom none of this would have been possible. Let's just say that thanks to her, I had a simple plan for meeting the New Kids.

See, the New Kids played back-to-back shows in Poughkeepsie back in the summer of 1989, but circumstances kept me from being able to go. Since then, despite the ribbing from friends, co-workers and even my fav HS teacher of all-time (and believe me, I've heard it all from everybody over the years!), I've remained a loyal NKOTB fan, with hopes of one day meeting the guys.

To make a long story short, I got my chance on Saturday (against all odds) — even before I actually got to see them perform live for the first time — and it was amazing! I first shook Joe's hand and told the guys I've been a fan since '88, and they were so appreciative they piled on top of me to say, "Thanks!"Everything after that was a blur, so I was happy to see I remembered to smile for the photo. (Glad to see they did, too!) I did, though, make sure to get my autographed photo of the guys.

Being a reporter, I've got to meet and interview a bunch of famous people, yet the only time I've ever been starstruck was when I covered Michael Jordan's return to the NBA when he faced the NJ Nets at the same Meadowlands a few years ago. That, though, couldn't even compare to my New Kids opportunity on Saturday.

Again, being a long-time New Kids fan I've heard all the insults over the last two decades, but Saturday's encounter made me happy I'd kept Hangin' Tough all these years!