The whole curious notion of picking a high school from among 38,000 as No. 1 in the nation in sports is just this side of crazy.

Even Punahou School President James K. Scott, whose school will be announced as the country's "Best High School Athletics Program" in the Sports Illustrated rankings today, terms it a "mythical" designation.

And, undoubtedly, Barack Obama's visibility as the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democrats gives Punahou a leg up on the field. Quite an assist, three decades after the fact, by a former reserve basketball player.

But if somebody has to be No. 1, to have it be a Hawai'i school is something to celebrate — for everybody.

It is no small breakthrough for a state more than 2,500 miles off the beaten path. So, put aside, for the moment, generations-old animosities and distant paintbrush wars and look at it not only as recognition for the Buffanblu but the state.

Be assured Punahou does. And, in this, the Buffanblu have it right. Without the daily push from Kamehameha, 'Iolani, Kahuku, Radford, among the dozens they willingly doff a cap to, there isn't nearly the incentive or urgency to excel. Without the inspiration of a Moloka'i or Mid-Pacific in baseball, the Buffanblu probably aren't clutching their latest trophy in that sport today.

Indeed, Saint Louis' success in football forced the rest of the state to pick up its game, a rise exemplified by the triumphs of Kahuku and Leilehua in recent years. It was the kind of enduring success that brought the Crusaders national rankings and, in doing so, elevated Hawai'i's standing in football.

Two years ago, Kahuku's ability to win titles and put players in the NFL brought USA Today and ESPN here. That, in turn, enticed more and more college recruiters — and scholarship offers.

The kind of attention that was typified yesterday by the arrival of Tom Lemming, of the Chicago-based Prep Football Report, USA Today and College Sports Television, who was checking out the cream of the upcoming recruit class even as a swarm of coaches were all over the landscape conducting their own evaluations.

What the spread in Sports Illustrated, due out this week, does is take the state's visibility to a higher — and wider — level of validation. It ties in one knot, by association, what is taking place beyond the football field in volleyball, golf and a dozen other sports. It underlines what Bryan Clay, Brian Ching, Natasha Kai, Dean Wilson and a bunch of others have been doing on national and international stages.

Of course, as No. 1, the Buffanblu have just become a Diamond Head-sized target for all who would seek to supplant them.

"I hope they do," Scott said.

We hope they do, too, because Hawai'i is the real winner each time one of its schools receives this kind of national recognition.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8044.