ChiefsPlanet - Chiefs Traitor!!! Chiefs fan going thru hypnosis to convert to Bronco fan!?

Broncomaniac wannabe
By Jim Armstrong
The Denver Post
Posted: 12/05/2009 01:00:00 AM MST

Denverite Dave Hoye, a lifelong Chiefs fan who wants to become a Broncos fan, submitted to hypnosis this week to try to love the local team. ( Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post )
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It was Thanksgiving Day 2005, and Dave Hoye was miserable. Why? Because the Broncos had just rallied to beat the Dallas Cowboys in overtime, virtually sealing a trip to the playoffs.

"It was a bitter loss for those of us who rooted against the Broncos," Hoye said. "Then, after the game, they kept talking about all these charitable things the players were doing. It was like John Lynch was at every food kitchen in the city. I couldn't take it anymore! I had to get up and leave the room."

Hoye has been a Broncos hater for almost 40 years. During that time, he has spent Sunday afternoons pulling for two teams: the Kansas City Chiefs, and whatever team is playing the Broncos.

There's just one problem. Hoye, an Iowa native, has lived in Denver since the early '90s. No, make that two problems. There's also the matter of the Chiefs having fallen off the NFL map, with six wins in their past 32 games.

And so it was that Hoye recently sent an e-mail to The Post entitled: "Chiefs fan living in Denver needs an intervention."

Hoye was so desperate, so frustrated, so alienated from his friends and family on Sundays, he asked if the newspaper could arrange for him to be hypnotized so he could accept the dreaded Donkeys into his heart.

"It's like growing up," said Hoye. "A midlife crisis, whatever way you want to say it. I'm going to be out here for the long haul, so I figured I might as well get with the party.

"After 16 years of being on the outside looking in, it's no fun."

Enter Lee Rindner. Talk about a match made in mental-health heaven. Who better for Hoye to turn to than Rindner, the godfather of local hypnotherapists who 23 years earlier had moved to Denver from Milwaukee and converted to Broncos Nation after a lifetime of pulling for the Green Bay Packers?

A Chiefs fan wanting to become a Broncos fan? Yep, that's what the voice on the other end of the line was saying. After the laughter subsided,

Rindner agreed to take the case.

"I know where he's coming from," Rindner said. "It was Packers, Packers, Packers when I was growing up. When I moved out here, people looked at me like I was crazy. I was like, 'What's Elway?' I didn't know any of the history or any of that stuff. But I love people. I want to connect with people, laugh with people, hang out with people. There were no Packers games to go to, so the Broncos grew on me."

Would the Broncos grow on Hoye? The moment of truth came Wednesday when he arrived at Rindner's Littleton office, just as many famous athletes, actors and politicians have during the past two decades. After posing for a "before" picture in Chiefs garb, Hoye began walking toward Rindner's office for a confidential 90-minute session.

"The time has come," he said.

His last words before taking the leap of faith?

"Darn that Stenerud in '72."

Actually, it was Christmas Day 1971 when future Hall of Famer Jan Stenerud missed two potential game-winning field goals, enabling the Miami Dolphins to beat the Chiefs 27-24 in a double-overtime playoff game that still ranks as the longest game in NFL history.

An hour and a half later, the two emerged from Rindner's office. And . . . and . . .

"I hated the Broncos because they always punked the Chiefs," said Hoye. "Now I feel like I have coping mechanisms to get past that part of it. I'm disassociating the bitterness I've had against them all these years and throwing it out the window. I'm starting with a clean slate. Maybe I can grow into the Broncomaniac I should be after being here 16 years."

Maybe?

"That's my goal over time," he said. "You have to remember I came in guns blazing when I moved here. I have friends from Denver who want to take me to Kansas City in the next few years to see the Chiefs play the Broncos. I'm not sure what I'm going to wear. That's the big question. Check my Facebook status in a month."

Rindner is sworn to confidentiality in these matters, so he couldn't talk specifics. But it was readily apparent that Hoye, if not a new man, was a new fan.

"There are two ways to motivate a person: toward pleasure and away from pain," said Rindner. "I do my best to gather both pieces of information. If you motivate away from pain and toward pleasure, you let them know that, hey, you get to enjoy friends and family and go to games and smell the grass and have fun."

Hoye said he's ready to do all of the above. Sure, it's going to take time to lose all his Broncos baggage, but he's ready for the task — witness the John Elway jersey he wore post-session. Having seen the light, even if it was more of a glimmer than a bright flash, he isn't sure how he's going to feel when the Broncos and Chiefs play Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

"I'm hoping I don't curse a blue streak if the Broncos win, like I usually do. Now the question is, if the Broncos win, what will my emotion be? Joy? Indifference? I'd say it's probably indifference right now, which would have been sorrow a month ago . . . or a few hours ago."

Jim Armstrong: 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com
http://www.denverpost.com/premium/broncos/ci_13931371