Carol Ballou and Kim Puckett have been neighbors and friends for over 10 years, and it always has been positive – except when it comes to their alma maters.
Ballou went to the University of Alabama, graduating in 1983. Puckett went to Indiana University Bloomington and graduated in 1976. They are each die-hard fans for their school’s teams.
Now, their friendly rivalry will be put to the test when the Indiana Hoosiers and Alabama Crimson Tide go head-to-head at the Rose Bowl’s New Years Day football game — which also happens to be a College Football Playoff quarterfinal game.
When asked about their “rivalry,” Ballou recalled a recent memory of Puckett giving her a hard time.
“I saw him the other day in Smart and Final, and he was giving me all kinds of grief, you know, letting people know in the store that … he said this, ‘She can’t get in our line here. You know, you have to get in that line over there.’ I said, ‘Oh, is this line only for Indiana fans?’ and everybody in the store was laughing at that,” Ballou said. “Because they know that there’s a big football game coming up. They understand that it’s Alabama and Indiana.”
Puckett echoed the same story when asked the same question, adding that he knows he and Ballou would be supportive of each other’s team no matter the outcome of the game.
“It’s just a fun rivalry. I mean, obviously, I want Indiana to win. She wants Alabama to win, but I think she’d be the first to congratulate me. She’s been really supportive all year. She says, ‘Kim, your team is playing so good and this and that’ … I think we’d be the first to congratulate them and her, you know her if Alabama should win,” Puckett said.
Ballou said that having the friendship and camaraderie like this “makes life worth living.”
She added that when she met Puckett at a deposition — because she was working as a court reporter and he was an attorney — she knew she had a friend on the street after they found out they were neighbors.
When asked how the momentous occasion felt for Ballou, she said it was the best.
“This is so much fun. It’s a great way to start the new year, and, you know, it’s not over for one of us. We’re going to go on, and if his team wins, I’m going to be an Indiana fan, I’m going to root for him all the way,” Ballou said.
Puckett once again returned the sentiment — except he added “Go Hoosiers!” with a laugh.
