Alberta politician Tyran Ault is an ardent, long-suffering Toronto Blue Jays fan.

He remembers the fun of being in school during the 1992 and 1993 World Series glory years. More recently, he remembers the 22-year post-season drought.

When he saw they might make the playoffs for the first time in decades, Ault knew he couldn’t “miss it for the world.”

He was so prepared that he booked his tickets three weeks ago. But he didn’t buy them for a home game at the Rogers Centre.

For the Fort McMurray councillor, it made substantially more financial sense to fly to Texas than Toronto.

At $40 per ticket to the Texas Rangers’ first home game (Game 3 Sunday at 8:10 p.m.) he judged the risk of the Jays not making it or playing another side in the AL Division Series to be well worth it.

“It’s been a long wait for a Jays playoff game,” Ault said.

“Now the stars have aligned. The game is on Thanksgiving weekend, so that means less time off work and out the office too.

“I figured I’d start looking at prices of hotels and flights, and it was cheaper to go to Dallas than other cities where the Jays would play, even Toronto.

“The tickets were cheap, like $40 each, so we’ll hopefully be able to upgrade when we’re down there.”

The flights for Ault and his wife cost somewhere in the region of $900. Had they flown Fort McMurray to Toronto, prices on airfare comparison sites Friday were around $600 per person. Tickets for the Jays games Thursday and Friday were being hawked by scalpers for between $160 and $300.

Ault planned to make the trip soon after Friday's game (a 6-4 extra-innings loss to the Rangers).

“I'm probably the only person happy about the early start time. I still get to watch the game before I fly,” the councillor joked while speaking to the Star on Wednesday.

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Ault is such a big fan, he even wears Jays merchandise to council meetings. He's also planning to wear a Jays jersey to Sunday's game.

“I've been Googling what it's like in Texas and it seems like it's safe to wear away team colours,” he said.

“I don't think it's like Philadelphia or New York. I don't think I'll get beat up,” he said with a laugh.

If you’re a Torontonian wishing Ault was in your ward so you could back him, hold on a minute - he's also a Montreal Canadiens fan.