Better With You – Best Of The Backstreet Fandom – Part 1

I asked for submissions and you guys came through! Being a part of a fandom can be something so amazing. And it’s so great that the Boys in a way gifted us with this. But we gifted each other with this as well. Through BSB we’ve gained friends, memories, experiences – all which will stay with us forever. So when you feel down, or frustrated, I hope this post will remind you of why we’re all here as fans (besides the music of course.) There’s been plenty of submissions I thought it was best to split this up into two parts! Keep the love flowing longer and such. So if you want to submit your story of what the BSB Fandom has given you, you still can! You can email us at bsbdarkside@gmail.com or you can fill out the submission form in my last post! Also if you don’t see your submission here, it means I’m putting it in the next one!

I’ll start us off.

Long before I blogged, I wrote fiction and eventually fan fiction. Still do both, but those fanfics were the first things I ever posted to the internet. I eventually found a community known as Absolute Chaos where I met one of my favorite people in the fandom @rokofages75. Julie and I just clicked. We have the same whacked out and somewhat morbid sense of humor, we liked to write together – and we basically encourage each other’s sense of crazy. Her and I became friends around 2006 and twelve years later and use BSB as an excuse to plan vacations. In fact this summer I’m flying out to see her, just so we can do a road trip to a convention in Knoxville. I love the Boys but honestly? I’m more excited to see her. Because she lives in the Midwest and I live in Vegas, we NEVER would’ve met without the BSB fandom. So I’m beyond thankful to the fandom for my Zombie Double Rainbow.

I’ve made so many friends in the fandom since then and I know it’s because of BSB. 

Another example of the fandom being amazing was after my mom passed. A few friends mentioned it on twitter and word spread FAST. This was before I had a blog. This was before TDS even had a twitter. I was just a mod on a fan forum. I maybe had a 100 followers at most at the time. I didn’t know that many people just yet. My first exposures to the fandom at events were the cruises but that was it. Yet when word got out that my mom had passed, I got a FLOOD of love and condolences. People I didn’t even know were reaching out with all the love and support in the world. I got several bouquets sent to my house from fans – some from friends and some from people I’d never met. I was floored and in the end it made me feel less alone. It’s a major reason why I love giving back to the fandom. Because the fandom had been there for me when I’d needed it most.

– Rose @ForeverRebel

I became a BSB fan when I was going through a very hard time and was struggling with life. The fandom welcomed me with open arms, even though I was such a newbie back then and knew NOTHING. They were there for me, took me to my very first concert and distracted me with thousands of great pics and stories about our boys. It was back then when I also met my very best friend forever. Today, we are so close that we spend all of our off time together, there’s no tour or even vacation without each other and we are like sisters. Her family is my family and mine is hers. Hard time? Struggles? All of that is gone today. I learned to focus on the positive things in life. When someone asks me what was going on in my life during those times, I just remember becoming a fan and having a great time. I don’t care anymore about all the bad stuff that happened, and that is thanks to our boys and our great fandom. ❤

– Verena

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On my first BSB cruise in 2013, I went into it pretty much blind. I’d never been on a single cruise before. Never thought about doing it until my friend suggested going. There wasn’t really a Facebook group for the cruise that I found useful for information at the time either. So the day before the cruise I found myself freaking out due to nerves and just anxiety in general (I actually have social anxiety.) My roommate and I wanted to go and explore but we had no idea where anything was. Turns out we met some fans in the hotel room next door named Jen and Melina. Jen was so helpful and pointed me in the right direction to the free trolley outside of the hotel, told me a bunch of stuff and even spent most of the cruise hanging out with us to make us feel welcome. It really made me feel a lot better about the cruise to make friends beforehand, and it didn’t seem so daunting anymore. I had the best time. She inspired me to make my Facebook group last year so I could do the same thing and pay it forward by helping new cruisers. Through the BSB Cruise I’ve overcome a lot of things and become more confident, especially with my anxiety. Fans need to stick together in times like this, and I hope other fans take the same initiative. Five years later I’m still friends with that girl I met at the hotel, and we’ve gone on lots of BSB adventures together. The boat is definitely a place I’ve met a lot of great people. ♥

– Tracy

 

We didn’t choose the fandom life, the fandom life chose us – but we love everything it’s given!

Stay tuned for Part Two!