WIU Cheerleader speaks out after video of her fall goes viral - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

WIU Cheerleader speaks out after video of her fall goes viral

By: Jillian Wilson

jwilson@cbs4qc.com

The video has gone viral.

A WIU cheerleader flipping through the air, collides with the school's mascot.

But what many may not know, the cheerleader is from the QCA.

ESPN, Good Morning America, Fox and of course YouTube showed off Western Illinois cheerleader, Kali Webster's crash all this past week.

"It's funny. At first I was like, okay that's not funny, that's me, but now I'm like, yeah that's me, falling in the video, laughing at myself," says Kali Webster, WIU Cheerleader.

Despite a bruised ego, luckily Kali wasn't seriously hurt.

But her dad wasn't laughing, he says it was rough to see his daughter at the butt of everyone's jokes.

"To see her fall like that, she had no control over it. Yeah, it bothered me," says Dave Webster, Webster's father.

And her sister says she's being a trooper.

"I know she was embarrassed but at the same time, I'm like she's getting her 15 minutes of fame!" says Shae Fox, Webster's sister.

Even though it happened just last week, Kali's already back in the action.

Just this weekend she cheered at a WIU game, but this time with a new set of fans.

"People came up to me, hey good job, glad to see you back. And then I had one football player ask me for a picture, so it's interesting to feel like noticed, now," says Webster.

She says getting up after the fall has given her more confidence.

"It's taught me to be a stronger person, laugh at myself, just head up," says Webster.

Kali says above all, she wants people to recognize cheering as a sport.

After all, she did take a hard hit for her team.