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Buc-ee’s, like the Houston Astros, are a Texas institution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brandon Bell\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Buc-ee’s<\/a> is a Texas institution. Drive to any corner of the Lone Star State, and your trek will be accompanied by a siren-song billboard in the distance, calling you to step inside the nation’s greatest gas station and convenience store. The company is a symbol of sustained success<\/a> in Texas, much like one baseball team beloved in the Bayou City: the Houston Astros<\/a>.<\/p>\n Sure, the Astros aren’t beloved by everyone in Texas, especially those up north in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. But even the haters can’t deny the parallels. Stop by a Buc-ee’s at any point in the past decade, and you’re effectively guaranteed to have a good experience. Go to an\u00a0Astros’ game at any point in the last decade, and you’re effectively guaranteed to watch a quality baseball club. The Astros spent the past decade as the gold standard of the America League.\u00a0Buc-ee’s is the gold standard of American gas stations and convenience stores, rivaled by perhaps only Wawa in the northeast.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n It’s safe to declare the Astros and Buc-ee’s as de facto twins in their given fields of baseball and on-the-road hospitality. The comparison becomes more apt the more you dig. Need more evidence? As the Astros head on a roadtrip against the Baltimore Orioles, let’s have a little fun and compare Buc-ee’s items to Astros’ players of present and past. There’s more of a relation between the two than what initially meets the eye.<\/p>\n Jose Altuve \u2014 Beaver Nuggets<\/p>\n Altuve is the OG of the Astros’ current era, a baseball legend whose name is synonymous with the 21st century Astros. Beaver Nuggets, similarly, are arguably\u00a0the most recognizable item sold by\u00a0Buc-ee’s, beloved by customers of all ages. Altuve should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer<\/a> when his baseball career ends. The Beaver Nugget deserves similar status if a snack-food Hall of Fame is ever erected.<\/p>\n Yordan Alvarez\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Brisket Sandwich<\/p>\n Are both Alvarez and Buc-ee’s brisket sandwich a touch pricey? Sure. But both are large in stature and elite in status, with Alvarez standing as baseball’s best left-handed hitter while the brisket sandwich stands as Buc-ee’s best lunch offering.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n There’s little debate here. Argue with a (jerky) wall if you disagree.<\/p>\n Yordan Alvarez’s mammoth power makes him well worth the $53 million he’s owed across\u00a0 the next two seasons.<\/p>\n Grace Hoppel\/MLB Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n Carlos Correa \u00a0\u2014 Breakfast Tacos<\/p>\n Correa is as synonymous with the Astros as breakfast tacos are with Buc-ee’s, but are we sure either is providing proper bang for their buck? Correa is more of a solid player at 31 years old than a superstar, yet he is owed $95 million through the next three seasons. The Buc-ee’s taco is tasty enough. It can also run north of $6, steeper than many of the fresher, more filling breakfast tacos across Texas. Both satisfy a certain nostalgia. Both might be past their prime.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Cam Smith \u00a0\u2014 ICEE and Soda Machine<\/p>\n Exciting and filled with possibility, both Houston’s young outfielder<\/a> and the Buc-ee’s ICEE Wall can provide plenty of flavor and fun. Each are prone to a subsequent crash, however, whether that be Smith’s falling batting average or the sugar-crash-induced nap that comes as the passenger on a long car ride.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alex Bregman \u2014 Buc-ee’s Bathrooms<\/p>\n This isn’t an insult to Bregman in the slightest. Both are clean, complete and dependable, an unsung hero of sorts for both the Astros and the gas station chain. Now let’s hope Buc-ee’s management spends enough to keep the bathrooms in tip-top shape, unlike the Astros, who saw their infield fall apart last season sans Bregman<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Alex Bregman was as dependable as they come in nine years with the Houston Astros.<\/p>\n Lachlan Cunningham\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Dana Brown\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Long Lines<\/p>\n Both Houston’s general manager and the long lines at a given Buc-ee’s are a point of frustration for Texans. But is either party at fault for their presumed flaws? Brown was handed a hampered roster and runs a team with a limited payroll. Buc-ee’s moves as efficiently as possible, but long lines are unavoidable on a crowded Saturday or Sunday. Perhaps Houstonians can only throw up their hands and shrug at this intractable problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Justin Verlander\u00a0\u2014 Buc-ee’s Sign<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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