Charles Runnells

The News-Press

Every morning, Neal McCoy gets up, puts his hand on his heart and recites the Pledge of Allegiance. And thousands of people watch him do it, too.

The country singer started saying his daily pledge more than a year ago and posting video on Facebook Live. Now it’s become an Internet phenomenon.

“I’ve been doing it every day for almost 430 days straight now,” McCoy says in his deep Texas twang. “I just did it this mornin’.”

If he’s at home, he’ll face the flag flying on the 30-foot pole in his Longview, Texas, front yard. If he’s on the road, no problem: His entire bus is painted with the flag, too.

“I want people to know where I stand,” McCoy says. “I love our country and I always have.

“And you know, we should be proud. We should be proud of this country and not just bad-talking everything.”

McCoy — who performs Friday at The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon in Fort Myers — says he’s always been a patriotic guy. But then, one day, he thought he’d try an experiment to see how people responded.

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He started by writing the pledge on Facebook every day. Then he decided to post video, instead.

“I started because, as crazy as some of the presidential race had become and things that were being said on both sides, I thought: No matter what side of the aisle you’re on or how you feel about different things, we can love this country,” McCoy says. “And that’s really what it’s about.”

The result: People responded in patriotic droves. Many of his daily videos get 50,000 views or more on Facebook.

And it’s not just McCoy doing the pledge, either. He often grabs people he meets to say it with him. And many people actually follow along at home, saying the pledge with him as they watch on Facebook Live.

“I encourage ‘em to say it with me,” McCoy says. “And they do! It’s crazy.”

McCoy — the country star best known for the hits “Wink,” “No Doubt About It” and “Billy’s Got His Beer Goggles On” — says patriotism was something he learned at an early age.

“You know, my mother is from the Philippines,” McCoy says. “My father met her when he was in the Army. And my mom used to tell us as kids — and still does to this day — she says, ‘Look, y’all live in the greatest country on Earth, and y’all don’t understand that. I know it’s hard to believe, because it’s the only one you know.’

“She grew up on the Philippines. She was 13 when the Japanese basically tried to take over Manila — the same time they tried to take over Pearl Harbor — and there was martial law and a lot of ugliness. And so she understands what it’s like to not have the freedoms that we all take for granted here.”

McCoy doesn’t just say the pledge on Facebook, of course. Occasionally, he even breaks it out during his concerts.

Will he do it during his stop in Fort Myers? McCoy isn’t sure yet.

Just ask and find out.

“I might!” he says. “It depends. If people start hollering for it, then yeah: We’ll do it. If people want me to do it, then we’ll dang sure do it!”

Connect with this reporter:Charles Runnells (News-Press) (Facebook),@charlesrunnells (Twitter),@crunnells1 (Instagram)

If you go

Who: Neal McCoy

When: 9 p.m. Friday

Where: The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon, 2158 Colonial Blvd., Fort Myers.

Tickets: $21-$56.

Info: 985-9839 or theranchfortmyers.com