FORT WORTH, Texas — The most famous cowboy in the world says he can count the number of best friends he has on one hand. And Roy Cooper was one of them.
That bond was never more apparent than Monday afternoon, when George Strait, the famed country music legend, took to the stage at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth to honor Cooper, the rodeo roping legend who died in a house fire last month at his home near Decatur.
Strait wasn’t there to perform a song. Instead, he gave a heartfelt — and, in moments, lighthearted — speech in memory of Cooper, whom Strait met at a rodeo event in Oklahoma City more than 40 years ago. Strait told tales of their antics together, including an impromptu horse race in front of dignitaries and how Cooper, a world champion roper known as the “Super Looper,” tried to lasso Stevie Nicks at a Kentucky Derby afterparty…