Mitch's vocation as a sports pundit and journalist became engrossed in him. He neglected his fiancée and failed to make time for the things that are most important to a person's life. Morrie, a well-known scholar, was one of Mitch's college lecturers. Mitch was watching TV one day when he saw Morrie give an interview in which he stated that he is dying of Lou Gehrig disease, also known as ALS.