Illinois Football Stadium Catches On Fire, Poetic Symbolism For The Fighting Illini's Season

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Illinois is losing on and off the field this season after Memorial Stadium caught fire Tuesday.

A fire started at the southwest corner of the stadium, according to a statement from the program, and there's hope the team can play Nebraska at home Friday night as currently scheduled.

"DIA will continue to evaluate the facility over the course of the next day but early indications are positive that the stadium will be prepared to host the game, as scheduled and without interruption of seating or services, for the game on Friday," Illinois announced Tuesday night.

Video from the scene shows a massive response from firefighters as they rushed to contain the situation before it spiraled out of control.

Illinois' Memorial Stadium catches on fire.

When it rains, it pours for the Illinois Fighting Illini. If this isn't the perfect symbol of Illinois' current season, I don't know what is.

The team is getting manhandled on the field with embarrassing losses to Kansas, Penn State and a humiliating 44-19 loss to Purdue. It's been an incredibly disappointing season for Bret Bielema and his squad.

After a decent 2022 season, expectations were high the Fighting Illini could build on the momentum. That hasn't happened, and it's hard to find three more wins on the schedule.

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Illinois and Bret Bielema are having a brutally bad season after a 2-3 start. The team's stadium also caught on fire Tuesday. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Now, the team's stadium caught on fire. Part of it went up in flames. It's practically identical to Illinois' season on the field.

It's borderline Shakespearean. The fire is straight out of Taylor Sheridan's writing with its symbolism.

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Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois caught on fire Tuesday. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Best of luck to Bret Bielema and the Fighting Illini the rest of the way. It certainly appears they're going to need all the help they can get.

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David Hookstead is a reporter for OutKick covering a variety of topics with a focus on football and culture. He also hosts of the podcast American Joyride that is accessible on Outkick where he interviews American heroes and outlines their unique stories. Before joining OutKick, Hookstead worked for the Daily Caller for seven years covering similar topics. Hookstead is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin.