George Strait barely held it together, saying goodbye to one of the realest cowboys to ever live.
Roy Cooper wasn’t just a rodeo legend. He was the Super Looper. A seven-time world champ. A Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer. The kind of man who could command a room with a rope and a quiet stare. He was also one of George Strait‘s closest friends. And when Roy died in a tragic house fire on April 29 in Decatur, Texas, it didn’t just rattle the rodeo world. It hit the King of Country like a punch to the gut.
At the funeral held Monday at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Strait stepped to the mic to remember the man who meant the world to him. The words came hard, and the tears came harder.
“He was my hero,” Strait said, voice cracking in front of a crowd full of cowboys, country folks, and family. “We shared a lot of good and bad times together. He didn’t hang out with me. I hung out with him.”
That’s not just talk. Strait and Cooper go way back. All the way to the days before Strait was country royalty. Cooper, known for being both tough as hell and quietly loyal, once said he’d only give up his prized All-Around World Champion belt buckle to one person. “I would give it to George Strait if he would wear it,” he said. “He’s one of my very best friends.”
That kind of bond doesn’t die easy. And you could feel it in every word Strait fought to get out.
“Roy was one of the ones they made that saying about. That they broke the mold when they made him. They sure did.”
RELATED: Country Songs About Goodbye That Comfort the Heart
Strait managed to lighten the mood with a story that only works when you’ve lived it. He recalled a Kentucky Derby party where Stevie Nicks showed up. Next thing you know, Cooper’s trying to rope her. Strait chuckled, remembering how years later Nicks asked him, “Where’s that crazy cowboy that tried to rope me at the Derby?”
For You
But even the laughter couldn’t hold back the grief. Strait paused more than once to gather himself, especially when he talked about Roy’s faith, his family, and that unbreakable code between men who’ve shared more than a few miles together.
“Boy, did he love his family and he loved the Lord,” Strait said. “If the good Lord chooses me to go to Paradise sometime, where I know Roy is, I’m just gonna say throw a saddle on one for me brother and let’s race.”
RELATED: Top 50 Country Songs to Help You Cope with Grief and Loss
It was real. It was raw. And it was exactly the kind of farewell a man like Roy Cooper deserved. No glitz. No empty tributes. Just George Strait holding it together for a brother he’ll never stop missing.
Roy Cooper was a legend in the arena, and George Strait made sure we all remembered he was one out of it, too.
Rest easy, Super Looper.
Know someone who loves George Strait?
Pass this story along to your friends and family on Facebook.
