Cars were parked around the back ally with phrases such as "Honk if you love 'NSYNC!" soaped onto the windshields. People stood in small groups, glancing around wildly every time someone approached or a new car drove up.

"Are they the Baha Men?" asked Amy Meyers (sophomore-hotel and restaurant management), pointing at a large tour bus parked at the back of the Atherton Hotel, 125 S. Atherton St. "No, it's Soul Decision," said Amy Gelnett (sophomore-hotel and restaurant management).

"I think it's 'NSYNC!" said Alicia Dixon, a 15-year-old from Cresson, Pa. Her remark was followed by punctuated screeches and giggles from the surrounding group.

Such was the scene yesterday outside the Atherton Hotel, where hoards of girls gathered in hopes of seeing the elusive 'NSYNC.

While no one was entirely sure if the group was really there, everyone was willing to wait to see them.

"We're going to wait here until we leave for the concert," Dixon said. "And we're going to come back right after it's over."

"We've been here for like half an hour," said Gelnett. "It's cold, but we might as well hang out a little longer, just to see what happens."

The groups were deep in debate about the true relationship between 'NSYNC front man Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears (it seems that they're clearly together), which 'NSYNC member was the hottest (it was a tie between Justin and JC), how much it "sucked to sit in the peanut gallery" and what would be the cool thing to do if one were actually lucky enough to meet an 'NSYNC member.

"As we like to say, we're supportive fans, not giddy girlfriends," said Larissa Pettenati, a 17-year-old from Ashville, Pa. She said they go to 'NSYNC concerts for the music — the fact that the singers are "hot," while a nice plus, has nothing to do with their adoration.

"Yeah," said Jennie Eckenrode, a 16-year-old from Cresson. "We're here to meet them. We don't want their autographs or pictures — well, we wouldn't mind them! But we're here to meet them. We just want conversation."

That sentiment seemed to be reflected again and again throughout the group.

"If they walked in right now, I'd be speechless. I wouldn't know what to say," said Sheehan. "But, if I ever do meet them, I want it to be a 'Hey, what's up?' kind of thing. Not something totally geeky."

"We made a pact that if we ever do meet them we won't ask them to sing," said Carrie Spangler, a 16-year-old from State College. "Everyone does that, and it's so stupid. It's like 'Hello! You just saw them sing!' "

Some people didn't care to tell them how wonderful they were, or that they were hot. "I just want to say 'hi' and to tell them that if they want to come drink in my room later, it's fine," said Michelle Alvarez (junior-public relations).

Many of the fans were talking about what they had gone through to get tickets. It seemed many had hardships while talking to people at The Bryce Jordan Center, and with the wristband system. Even more people had been forced to crowd Uni-marts at early hours. Camping out proved to be another standard way to get tickets.

"We camped outside of Eisenhower Auditorium for 27 hours to get tickets to this concert and our seats aren't even that wonderful," Gelnett said.

Another popular topic of conversation was the distances fans traveled and the number of concerts they had previously seen. While everyone there had attended at least one previous 'NSYNC concert, there was a definite winner.

"This will be our 20th concert," said Kandice Aikens and Michelle Baum, both 25 years old, of Youngstown, Ohio. "We drove about five hours to get here today. We've followed them since the very beginning of their careers. Our first show was one of those free things they do on the radio, in Cleveland, April of 1998."

"Next week, we're going to drive seven hours to Philadelphia to see our 21st show."

One couldn't help but wonder what hotel employees thought of the crowds, but workers at the Atherton Hotel seemed less than concerned.

"We've never had any problems with fans," said an Atherton Hotel employee. "We just like to sit back and watch the action unfold."

"We went in (to the hotel) to get job applications, just so that we could go upstairs," said Gregg Pitman, a 17-year-old from State College.

"Yeah, but once we got (up) there, we were too afraid to do anything," said Meg Sheehan, a 17-year-old from State College. "We just kind of peeked around the corner, and ran away. We were afraid someone would say something to us."

They were forced to again join the ranks of those waiting outside, hoping for a glimpse.

The funny thing was, these girls were all between the ages of 15 and 25.

A pair of fans from Pittsburgh, Athena Panos, 21, and Nancy Gretchen, 20, explained that 'NSYNC was not just for children.

"People always think that 'NSYNC is for little kids," Panos said. "But their music is geared toward people our age, in our group. It really doesn't deal with the lifestyle of your average 10-year-old."

"I think kids listen because, well, what else are they going to listen to?" Gretchen said. "But it's really not for them."