Did you know it was National Bone Marrow Awareness Week? I did not. Until 20 minutes ago.

Naturally, I was upset at myself for forgetting the occasion, which ranks second behind only Chanukah in my list of favorite holidays. I don’t know what is supposed to be done during National Bone Marrow Awareness Week, but if I had known, I would have done it already.

More importantly, however, this event reminds me of my long-held feeling that there are far too many awareness events to keep track of, and thus the institution of awareness days, weeks, months and centuries has become self-defeating.

That being said, I’m a flexible guy and if awareness days are what the world is heading towards, I suppose we sports fans ought to get in the business.

I’ll start with Esteban Loaiza Awareness Week. I don’t know why, but a lone question has been bothering me lately: Where did Esteban go? For one season, Loaiza ruled baseball. With his 21-9 record and 207 strikeouts in 2003, Loaiza caught everyone’s eye, including mine when I was seeking young arms for my Triple Play baseball team. So, what happened to him? Well, he went to the Yankees, and like Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown and so many other ace pitchers, his career fizzled out in New York. But that doesn’t mean we should forget Esteban. How could we? In a sport dominated by guys named Jim, John and Roy, Esteban was a rarity. It’s about time we pay tribute to him.

I’d also like to suggest a National Baseball Misery Awareness Week, meant to remind us that Chicago Cubs fans aren’t the only fans that live in perpetual agony. It has been 24 years since my beloved New York Mets won a World Series, and it looks like it could easily be another 24 before we win another one. The point is not to feel sorry for me but rather to realize that Cubs fans aren’t the only miserable fans out there. Think about Houston Astros fans or Seattle Mariners fans. They haven’t exactly been popping champagne bottles recently. In my mind, this week would be a time for all of us to break out the tissues and cry on each other’s shoulders. And to ease the emotion, we could follow the crying with a viewing party of when our teams used to be good. I, for example, would use this occasion to force people to watch videos of the 1986 Mets with me. They would not be allowed to leave until the very end.

I would propose a Kyle Rowley Awareness Day as well, except that such an event would be pointless. Kyle Rowley is always on our minds. Indeed, not a day goes by where I don’t look back on that thunderous dunk he had once upon a time and remember how that made up for all the missed lay ups of his career.

And by the way, I’m aware this column makes me sound like a bit of a jerk. I might be, but to be clear, this column isn’t meant to make fun of bone marrow disease, just the concept of awareness days. Leukemia and other life-threatening diseases are an important topic, and bone marrow transplants can save lives.

See, awareness weeks do work after all.

Deputy sports editor Jonah Rosenblum is a Medill junior. He can be reached at [email protected]