I know that, as a guy, I'm supposed to care about Major League Baseball.

I know I'm supposed to stand around the water cooler and verbalize manly things like, ``Hey, did you see So-and-So make that catch last night?''

I know I'm supposed to rattle off statistics as if the fate of the free world depends on it, but the truth is, I find America's pastime dreadfully dreary.

That's why my buddy Jeremy was quite surprised by the panic-stricken voice mail I left him last Sunday. I screamed: ``Call me back right away! Tonight is the last Mets game ever at Shea!''

The Mets are playing in a new ballpark next season and the New Yorker in me needed to witness history. When Jeremy called back, I couldn't tell him where to meet me because I wasn't sure if I wanted to watch the nine innings at a newly opened neighborhood bar or park myself on a bar stool in an oldie-but-goodie, well-known nightspot.

Wahoo's Sports Bar & Grill, (3128 N. Federal Hwy.) in Lighthouse Point, poured beers for its first patrons only a month ago. Financially, this isn't the best of times to take a risk in the restaurant business, but Wahoo's owner Melanie Ghent is proving that it isn't the worst of times either.

Happy first-time customers have returned with friends. Their friends are bringing more friends and now an empty seat at the bar is as rare as the Mets not choking at the end of the season.

There are many factors that contribute to the success of a bar and Wahoo's figured out two of them early: 1) Ghent floats around her place and befriends her guests in a sincere, non-syrupy way. 2) The in-the-biz crowd (bartenders, cooks and servers) appreciates good service and many have switched from their usual haunts to Wahoo's.

The in-the-biz crowd, an uninhibited bunch, usually arrives after the dinner hour. However, you should show up earlier for the daily 3-7 p.m. happy hour. Drinks are 2-for-1 and the bar is stocked with a premium well. Instead of off brands like Uncle Jimbo's Gin and Rattlesnake Rum, you'll be poured smooth drinks mixed with Bombay Safire and Bacardi.

If you're in the mood for a Wahoo's original, try a Tini Bonita. It's mixed with Grey Goose Pear Vodka, Disaronno, lemon juice and garnished with a pear.

For beer guzzlers, the 10 on tap include standbys like Miller Lite and a few seldom-seens like Key West Sunset Ale. The wine list features about 20 choices, with some by the glass. Twenty-three wine labels are available, including a merlot by Guy Harvey -- yes the aquatic artist has his own limited collection. And at a place called Wahoo's, why not?

Fishing, like watching baseball, doesn't rank high on my all-time favorite list of activities, so when I first pulled up to the bar, I thought the wahoo was for ''Wahoo! My team is winning.'' But Wahoo's is named for the prized game fish.

The bar is a replica of two, side-by-side, 58-foot transoms, which is a fancy way of saying the back of a boat. These are lined with bar stools, and rod holders hang over bottles of liquor. The bar counters are constructed from teak, just as you'd find on a real transom. There are 18 hi-def LCD screens throughout the bar and plenty of neon beer signs.

For an oldie but goodie, there's O'Malley's Ocean Pub on Hollywood beach (101 N. Ocean Dr.), my other option for watching the game. Bars come and go in Hollywood with the frequency of changing tides but finding a full, friendly crowd at O'Malley's is as predictable as, well, the Mets choking at the end of the season.

The live music here is great, the bartenders are all old pros and their new gator wings are addictive.

COMING UP

•  Atmosphere performs Friday at Revolution Live (200 W. Broward Blvd.) in Fort Lauderdale. Abstract Rude, Blue Print and DJ Rare Groove open the show; 7:30 p.m.; tickets $17.

• Apocalyptica plays the Culture Room (3045 N. Federal Hwy.) in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday; 8 p.m.; tickets $19.99.

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