The Josh Innes Show - America Is The GOAT Pt. 1

Episode Date: February 19, 2026

Quinn Hughes scored the game winning goal for the US yesterday and said that the America is the greatest country. Why is this a headline? Why is saying America is great controversial? Also, which Hughes brother is Tate McRae banging? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All right, everybody. Welcome in. All up, Anas. What's going on? Hello, greetings, salutations. Hello. Now, beinvue. Bienveniedo. The U.S. hockey team won yesterday. And of course, I'm one of these fraudulent type people who gets into this type of stuff whenever the USA is involved. And really, when they're advanced in the advanced stages of it, like, I wasn't paying all that much of attention during the preliminary stuff for, like, the group play. But then yesterday I get home, I watched Sweden, tie the game late and I'm like, well, shit, I guess I'm invested. I guess I got to watch. So then I watch the overtime. I see the Quinn Hughes game winning goal. And I'm here for it now. Now I'm locked in.

Now I'm engaged. So, again, it's not something I'm super passionate about. You know that I'm not someone that wraps myself in the flag. That's not really my thing. It's not like my act where I find everything possible to be like, hey, America, right? Like, that's not my schick. Like around July 4th, I'll get super patriotic and I'll, I'll start playing Lee Greenwood and I'll start playing, you know, courtesy of the red, white, and blue and all that shit.

And I'll be down and ready to go. But outside of that, I'm just kind of like, eh, you know, whatever, you know, kind of passive about these things. But I would really enjoy the opportunity to see the U.S. take on Canada in the gold medal game. And all they have to do to get there is they have to beat Slovakia and Canada has to beat Finland. Those games are tomorrow. And if that happens, we get a gold medal matchup between the U.S. of A and Canada. Let's go. Let's play a couple commercials

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so I don't know what it's like to be in Finland or Slovakia or Canada or Japan or wherever. I don't know what the level of civic pride or country pride is like in these countries. Maybe they have a bunch of people that also hate their countries. but I feel like we're one of these countries where so many people just openly hate the country and like having some sort of pride in country makes us somehow offensive in some way. And we're told that by our own people in our own country where people are like, you know what I'm talking about, people that are just like ashamed to be from America. And they constantly tell you how they're ashamed to be from America and how we should be a

whole lot better. And somehow it's like offensive that we have pride in our country. Like Slovakia can love Slovakia or Slovakians. can love Slovakia, but, you know, we can't love country, right? That's just kind of how things work in America. Like there's a group of people, liberals, that just seemingly do not want you to have pride in country because it kind of goes along with their weird self-hate and their white hate they have for themselves, where you're not allowed to support the country that has provided you with so many great opportunities in life.

And it is absolute bullshit. But I will not be one of those people. And neither will Quinn Hughes, by the way. So Quinn Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal, mind you, scored the game winner to send the great old U.S. of A into the semifinals and one game away from the gold medal game, he has love for country. Yeah, it's special. I mean, you know, I love the U.S.

and greatest country in the world, so I'm happy to represent it here with these guys. And that's really special. I'm truly shocked that this hasn't been some sort of horrible thing and this guy has been vilified for saying that the U.S. is the greatest country. Now I'm curious. Let's look this up. Quinn Hughes, U.S. greatest country. Let's see if there's anybody, like someone from USA Today who's probably put off by this.

Let's see. New York Post. Team USA overtime hero Quinn calls America the greatest country in the world. Headline, greatest country in the world. Quinn Hughes gets patriotic after Team USA win. U.S. Olympic hockey star Quinn Hughes calls America greatest country in the world. Quinn Hughes calls USA greatest country on earth after Olympic heroics. Why is this a story?

Does that bother anybody else that the fact that a guy who lives in America has made his fortune in America plays hockey in America, is from America, went to the University of Michigan, why is this some sort of huge catastrophe, not catastrophe, but why is it such a huge to-do that a guy who lives here works here makes his living here has never lived anywhere else. This guy who's rich beyond his wildest dreams because he plays in this great country. Why is it somehow this evil story that's worthy of these sort of headlines? U.S. hockey star praise his greatest country in the world after when. Quinn Hughes had such an honest answer to how he felt after scoring heroic goal for Team USA.

the fact that it is a news story that a United States-born hockey player representing the United States believes that he lives in the greatest country in the world, the fact that there are thousands of headlines about this is wild. Quinn Hughes-O-T goals stuns Sweden. And it did. I mean, the fact that they lost was not stunning. The fact that they had come back and tied it and it was awesome. The game was awesome.

I wasn't rooting for Sweden. But the shot was awesome. it tied the game. It was pretty stunning. Did you know, by the way? So this guy, is this guy Quinn Hughes? Is he the guy that's banging Tate McCray? Which one of these guys is banging Tate McCray? So Tate McCray did this whole video, like basically talking about the United States and the Olympics, even though she is Canadian. So obviously he's not the one banging, well, is he the one banging Tate McCray? Which one of these lucky sons of bitches is banging Tate McCray? Who is Tate McCray's boyfriend? A lot of the people in Canada have viewed Tate McCray as

traitor because of her doing the Team USA videos. One user wrote, not all the Canadian born and raised, not the Canadian born and raised girl promoting Team USA and wearing all red, given the state of the USA and everything Trump has said about Canada. I guess a paycheck is a paycheck. This is so embarrassing. Another user wrote, Tate McCray, who is from Calgary, Alberta, is doing Olympic promos for Team USA.

More like Trey McRater, am I right? Ha! Like, that really didn't make any sense, but okay. Some Americans and Canadians have stood up for the ascendant pop star in the face of backlash. Quote tweets are full of woke Canadians attacking her as a traitor for promoting Team USA. Tate McCray is a model immigrant. This is what assimilation looks like. She's part of our melting pot.

Take your anti-American xenophobia elsewhere. Another user wrote, selling out for USA is the most Albertan thing she could do to be fair. Tensions between the U.S. and Canada are historically higher than at the previous Winter Olympics. Amid Trump's proposed proposition to annex the country and the imposition of tariffs on Canadian goods entering the U.S. And, of course, also here in Detroit, we have a situation with the Gordy Howe Bridge, which I'm sure you guys have read about. That's why I want the gold medal game if it happens between Canada and U.S. to be played on the Gordy Howe Bridge, or I want it to be played for the Gordy Howe Bridge. Can you imagine if those were the stakes, winner gets gold medal. medals and the fucking Gordy Howe Bridge into Canada, let's go.

I'd be in favor of that. The story has still not told me which one. Is she banging the Jack, dude? Is she banging Jack Hughes? Or not Jack Hughes. Who's Jack? Which one of you is Jack and which one of you is fucking Tate McCray? It's all I need to know.

Who is her boyfriend? Who is, okay, damn it. It's Jack. What's his name? You know, Jack. Who is Tate McCray dating? Jack Hughes. Okay, so there's another, there's multiple Hughes, Jack Hughes, Quinn Hughes, all the Hughes's. Maybe she's banging the whole Hughes brood.

They've been dating. They were seen together in Hoboken at the end of January 2026, and McCray has been linked to him during the lead-up to the 2026 Winter Olympics where Hughes is competing for Team USA. So not Quinn Hughes, Jack Hughes. Tate McCray and Jack Hughes fueled dating rumors on flirty NYC, outing. Good. Good for him. Let me tell you something, man. Good for this guy. Because Tate McCray is smoking hot.

Wonderful body. Shitty music. Who cares? Not here for it. Quinn Hughes, there goes my hero. He won the game, of course. Yeah, it's special. I mean, you know, I love the U.S. and

it's greatest country in the world, so I'm happy to represent here with these guys. And that's really special. There you go. There's nothing wrong with loving America. There's nothing wrong with that at all. But somehow we've been told by all these stupid celebrities, these mindless drones, these celebrities,

these people that basically spin the entire web of lies about how terrible we are as a country, all while living in mansions in the country. While Bruce Springsteen wants to get you out on his tour, because the cavalry's coming. Do not despair. The cavalry is coming. Yeah, the cavalry's coming right back to your giant.

400-acre mansion in a country that has provided you with this. I'm not telling you that you can't judge the country or say there are issues with the country. That is fine. What I take issue with is when you've got people who seemingly feel like it's wrong for a guy to say that he lives in the greatest country. That's the point of the Olympics, isn't it? Like last time I checked, the point of the Olympics is to represent your country because you think your country is the best and you want to win. If this didn't matter, then why the hell would we even have the Olympics? why would there be medals? It would just be scrimmages at this point. You want to be the best. You want your country to be the best. My man Quinn Hughes thinks his country is the best. So good for him. I think our country is the best and we're flawed and we're fucked up and we got issues. We've got annoying fucking politicians and we got celebrities who are the worst. But all that said, America still kicks ass. And I stand by that because America rules. And guess what? These colors don't run.

And the flag still stands for freedom. And they can't take that away. Yep. And I had to start again. Start again. Both of them. Or my dog. You know why?

Damn right. Ain't nothing wrong with patriotism. Shovel up your ass, Rosie O'Don. Donald, where at least I know it. And I'll gladly stay it out. Do not despair. The cavalry is coming. Yeah, the cavalry is the Hughes.

Ain't nothing wrong with loving the land that you're part of. And I tell you this, I get sick of it all the time. Not that I'm some sort of wacko patriot or anything like that, but like, why is, do you think that people over in Slovakia get shit on for loving Slovakia? That's all I want to know. Do you think that? from Detroit down to Houston. It's time we stand and say, I'm patriotic a couple times.

Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and when people talk shit about us or we're in the Olympics. But it is wild. I mean this. I don't know this for a fact. I don't know this. I'm going to assume I'm accurate on this, though, because why not?