the announcers patter , the flat midwest accent all these sportscasters seem to have , the cracking of bats with each hit and the noise of the crowd remind me of summer afternoons on the way to the movie theater in pass christian , when the childhood versions of tatyana and myself walked past the firehouse that seemed to have a perpetual baseball game playing inside the station , while the firemen sat on wooden folding chairs in the shade of the engine and played cards .