The lucky number: 36.

After almost an hour of absolute crowd-induced chaos outside Eisenhower Auditorium, there was nothing more that the approximately 150 'NSYNC fans could do. The lottery number to determine what girl would be first in line to buy tickets for Sunday's concert at The Bryce Jordan Center had been picked.

One person went crazy; the rest lined up behind her.

"I predicted this," Alex Spooner (freshman-communications) said, on being chosen to be first in line. "I kissed my lucky penny."

But wait, it was only Friday. Tickets didn't go on sale for another 19 hours. The girls didn't care — they had their camping gear ready to go. Despite the cold weather that Sept 15. weekend, fans were prepared to do whatever they had to in order to get the best seats possible. Some brought blankets and heavy jackets, others brought tents, some even brought their laptops to pass the time — but all were in it for the long haul.

'NSYNC ticket sales broke records, said Bernie Punt, director of public relations at the center. Over 3,000 wristbands were handed out between Friday and Saturday morning at the center and the tickets sold out Saturday afternoon within hours.

Now, almost two months later, the concert is finally coming to Penn State. One would think the outrageousness surrounding the concert would have subdued by now, but it's only gotten worse.

By this past Monday, the center had already begun receiving gifts for the members of the group. Susan Brandau sent a hand decorated shirt with a Superman logo on it to the center in hopes it would make it to Joey Fatone. Brandau wanted to give it to him the day of the concert but couldn't get tickets to the show.

On top of that, the center received approximately 200 e-mails by Monday and a few hundred more by Wednesday asking questions mostly in regards to getting tickets.

"How old do you have to be to an usher? Do you need any more ushers for the 'NSYNC concert on November 5?"

"OMG! Do you guys have at least two more tickets? I am dying here. My friend and I are like crying we want to see them!"

Real e-mails. From real people.

"We get a response from the fans on every act, but on this particular event the enthusiasm of the fans has been great," Punt said.

The center has also received videotapes of people doing the famous 'NSYNC "Bye, Bye, Bye" dance. Penn State students Beth Parfitt (sophomore-English), Brett Pugliese (sophomore-psychology) and Shahida Shahrir (freshman-science) made a tape in hopes they could receive tickets for their hard work.

Pugliese said he initially learned the dance just for fun and once people found out he could do it, it just caught on. He even ended up teaching the dance to kids in high school gym classes as part of a dance curriculum.

As for how the tapes came to be, it was in part due to the fact he found out some of the people he taught the dance had sent a tape to the center.

"We found out they had sent a tape, so we decided to send one too," Pugliese said.

The tapes were then sent to 'NSYNC's publicist and what becomes of them now is up to the group's management.

Pugliese and his friends waited two hours in line for tickets, and by the time they got to the front of the line, only seats with an obstructed view were left. They decided against buying tickets for this reason.

However, that doesn't mean they are giving up on somehow getting into the concert.

The three hope their hard work on the tape can somehow earn their tickets.

Some people however, will do whatever it takes to secure seats for the concert. WBHV-FM(103.1) has hosted a few contests for fans. "N Stink for 'NSYNC" took place at the center the day tickets went on sale. Ten girls had the opportunity to dive through a dumpster in search of front row seats for the concert.

Then there was "Lip Sync for 'NSYNC" at the Nittany Mall in which contestants had to lip sync to a montage of songs by the guys. The group that performed best got four seats to the show.

"It was a start of a pop revolution when Backstreet Boys Millennium album hit it big. Then it was Britney Spears, and it just keeps building and building and building," said Glen Turner, program director for Beaver 103.

"This is a great act coming through here. Everyone from little kids to their parents will want to check out this show."

Others aren't so happy about all of the attention that the band is getting. According to a CNN article, a 17-year-old Tennessee boy is undergoing psychological evaluations after his mother uncovered an alleged plan he had of killing the members of 'NSYNC. The boy was planning on robbing a local gun store and then heading to Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., where he would open fire on the band members.

The writings in a folder the boy was keeping, labeled "Operation Death Strike," indicate the boy may have been jealous of the band. In the journal, he wrote, "The group gets all the good girls."

Two words describe what is happening and will continue to happen when the boys arrive this weekend — absolute craziness. Just like last February when the Backstreet Boys graced State College with their presence, die-hard 'NSYNC fans will somehow find out what hotel the boys are staying at and what their plans are for the time they spend in town. All this in hopes, of course, of getting a glimpse of the guys outside the concert setting.

For all the non-'NSYNC fans out there, let this be a warning. It's going to get wild. And everywhere you turn Monday, some girl will be talking about the concert.

Sunday night will be no less crazy — and you can say bye, bye, bye to the calm, cool, collected females you once knew.