I was 8 when I went to my first concert, which just so happened to be New Kids on the Block. I was 8 ½ for my second one, which coincidentally was also NKOTB. Of course I went with my mother who accompanied me pretty much everywhere at the time.

I think she single-handedly prevented one of the guys from falling in love with me back then, but I kind of let it go. Even at that young age, I knew the magnitude of the craziness that I was willingly walking into (and spending my allowance on) at the Hampton Coliseum.

Nearly two decades later I found myself walking into the Toyota Center Saturday night to relive my youth at the New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys concert. This time, instead of my mom by my side, I had my wacky friend Beth adorned in her I heart Joey T-shirt. Whether you call it classic, vintage, or just too good to let go, the T-shirt was a sure-fire hit with the other crazed fans.

Wondering how the concert was set up, I asked tour manager assistant, Katharina Gauss how it worked. Does New Kids on the Block go on stage first and then Backstreet Boys or vice versa?

“No, they go on together. They share the stage. Like the ‘B’ in NKOTBSB,” she informed me. For a minute I was confused. I wanted to blame it on the whiskey, but it was probably my school-girlish excitement that prevented me from such concentration.

I guess I forgot the valuable years that separated the two groups thinking at one time they were boy-band rivals, but alas, I was confusing my Jordan Knight crush with my Justin Timberlake and 'N Sync crush. Of course NKOTB and BSB could share a stage. And the “B”.

It’s funny how things change just like your parents and all the other adults warned they would. Growing up, I was in awe of (OK, obsessed with) with Jordan Knight. Out of all the New Kids, he was by far my favorite.

And of course the one I knew I had a chance with. We had so much in common — he was the youngest of six kids, and I was an only child. He was born in May and I in November. At the age of 8 nothing really made sense, but I knew I loved him with my whole heart. I even told TJ Waller, my real-life boyfriend at the time that I could no longer be his girl. It didn’t feel right, what I was doing to Jordan, so I ended it with TJ immediately.

But now … well now, I’ve grown up. I realized I had absolutely nothing in common with Knight. And while on paper it may have sounded like a match made in heaven, in my heart I knew it was never going to amount to anything.

And besides, I’ve moved on. TO DONNIE WAHLBERG! The man is hawt. And not just on stage at a concert — I fell in love with him in my new favorite show Blue Bloods. He plays Danny Reagan, a sexy detective who happens to solve every single crime in all of NY.

On stage (and in my heart), Donnie Wahlberg dominates. It should be criminal for a 41-year-old to have a body like that. Ripping off his tried and true Paul Pierce Celtics jersey for the last act was almost too much for this now legal girl fan to handle. I tried to think back and recall if any of the guys ripped their shirts off when I was 8, but sadly, I couldn’t recall. I even called my mom to see if she remembered, but no such luck.

See the difference (and I’m sure both NKOTB and BSB can vouch for this) is that if they did rip their shirts off back in the day, we were only screaming for two reasons. Either they were about to throw an article of clothing into the crowd that if we were lucky enough to snag would give us the right to brag until the end of the school year about having or we were so young — and young girls scream at anything and everything.

Ripping their clothes off today means only one thing — we can appreciate those manly, sweaty bodies that we now longed for — in a different way than when we were 8 of course.

The guys put on a damn good show. Filling the the Toyota Center to 98 percent capacity was much more than most Houston Rockets games did the past few seasons. Making girls of almost every age swoon and bring out the bright magic markers and poster board for their I heart NKOTBSB signs was another notable factor. When’s the last time you saw a hot girl in sequins and hair scrunchies hold up a I heart Chase Budinger sign?

Dear Donnie, Danny, Joe, Jordan, Jon, Nick, AJ, Brian and Howie,

Quit playing games with my heart. I’ll be loving you forever.

Sincerely, every girl in Houston.