Poppa been smooth since days of Underroos

Last week I gave you five teasers ... I'm sure you have been sitting on the edge of your seat in anticipation. Today you get the "I Want It That Way" song story... enjoy.

When I was younger I went to the University of Kansas basketball camp every summer. One year the group I was in was a bunch of .. how do you say, ah yes ... douchebags. They would come up with stupid raps to yell at the top of their lungs as we walked from the parking lot where everyone met to the different gyms. Did I mention that this group was 100% white guys from Missouri or Kansas?

Needless to say I was very happy when I was informed I was being moved to a different group.

Sadly, my new group lined up directly next to the rapping whities. Someone in my group decided to start singing the dumbest thing possible to annoy them. It was Backstreet Boy's "I Want It That Way". We all joined in. The white kids, the African-American kids, the Hispanic kids, and the one Asian kid.

We sang it loud. We drowned them out. The next day, we did it again.

On the second to last day of camp we gathered for a speaker .. Raef LaFrentz. Before hand the camp director, Jared Haas, decided to have a little fun. (If you loved Kansas basketball like I did, you know these were big stars. I also believe Danny Manning and other Kansas legends were there. Roy Williams was there.) He wanted to have a talent competition.

He asked if anyone wanted to perform. The rappers sure did. They rapped. They were booed by the camp. The counselors clapped for them and told everyone else to not be rude. Then they asked for other competitors. No one moved. Haas then asked for the group that sang the Backstreet Boys to get up and sing. Begrudgingly ... we did.

We sang. We got louder and louder. Everyone stared at us in sorrow and pain. Then ... they joined in. The players and coaches laughed. We laughed. It was fun. We won the competition. Our prize? The next day during stretches we were led by a Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader. It was probably worth it...

So that is how I ended up singing "I Want It That Way" in front of hundreds of people including a number of my idols. Yikes.