It's harder to quit than you think.

What was that noise? Did you hear that?

It’s like going back to the same old bad relationship.

It’s like sneaking a cigarette when you’re trying to quit.

It’s also a lot like cheering for your hometown team, no matter bad they may be, year after year.

You would like to quit, you really would, but you can’t. You don’t know how. You keep going back. Such is the trivial nature of this conundrum, you and your loved ones oftentimes find yourselves at odds over what seems on the surface to be such a simple question. “Why don’t you just quit?” But it’s not that simple. It never is. The bad relationship never seems as bad as it really is. The cravings for a cigarette never seem to dissipate. And as far as your favorite team… they’re losers. You know it. They know it. Everyone knows it. It would be so simple to just pack it up, throw away all your jerseys and hats and coffee mugs and key chains and finally free yourself of the never-ending heartache. But. You. Just. Can’t. You can’t abandon them like that. You have to stick with them thru the hard times, no matter how bad they may get, so when they are finally able to turn it around, it will mean that much more to you.

Sports, especially, has a way of wrapping itself around us, making it virtually impossible for us to ever rid ourselves of it. Muhammad Ali returned from retirement several times. So too did Michael Jordan. Sugar Ray Leonard should have his own page in the Guinness Book of World Records for “Most Retirements.” These guys just couldn’t give it up. They couldn’t just say goodbye to their respective sports they loved so much. They just couldn’t… quit.

And neither could Molly McFadden.

Give her credit where it’s due, though. She tried to quit. She tried hard. She gave up her beloved game of basketball for nearly three years. But the hole created inside her by its absence grew to the point that ignoring it was far easier said than done.

McFadden was a standout prep player at White County High School in Sparta, Tenn. She started three years for the powerhouse Warriorettes, scoring over 1,200 points along the way. As a senior in 2005-06, she performed well enough to be named District 7AAA Player of the Year. But following her final games as a senior for White County, she quit. Despite several offers from some high-profile college programs, McFadden said “no thanks.” She didn’t even want to go to college. She got a job. She bought a house. She may have even gotten a dog. That would seem to be the next step. So she quit… well, for a while.

There it was again. What is that noise?

Now fast-forward three years. McFadden still has her job. And her house. Not sure about the dog. But there is something missing. A gaping hole inside her. And then she figures out what it is. Basketball. She wants to play again. She starts practicing, and then starts contacting schools. One interested coach is Rick Insell of Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Insell was familiar with McFadden from his days as the head coach of perennial contender Shelbyville Central High School. He had to coach against McFadden several times, so he was very familiar with her abilities. Insell brought McFadden to Murfreesboro for a tryout in August of 2008, and shortly thereafter offered her a scholarship. McFadden, of course, accepted.

Now fast-forward to present day. Despite her lack of playing time, McFadden establishes herself as a fan favorite. She may only come in to the game with a few minutes to play and a 30-point lead, but she makes her presence known. She hustles. She blocks shots. She dives for loose balls. She smiles. She’s back.

You’re at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn., watching the MTSU Lady Raiders pile up points against another helpless opponent. There’s that noise again. And then it hits you. You figure out what that noise was that you had been hearing. "MO-LLY! MO-LLY!" Coach Insell has just reached over and tapped McFadden on the shoulder, and the crowd rises as number 44 makes her way over to the scorer’s table to check in to the game.

Several years after Molly McFadden’s basketball career seemed to be over, she makes her way onto the court for the nationally-ranked Lady Raiders. She plays with the same intensity you would expect to see in a close game. You suppose that no one told her that MTSU was up by 30 at the time she came in. Or maybe she just doesn’t care. Maybe she’s just glad to be playing the game she loves again.

Maybe Molly McFadden is just glad she went back on her decision to quit.

And then, as you find yourself cheering for her, you realize something…

You’re glad she didn’t quit, either.