Cowboys preseason crowds boost business at J. Gilligan's Bar & Grill

Fans packed into J. Gilligan's Bar & Grill in Arlington on Saturday, as the start of the Cowboys' preseason brought a surge in business, with supporters offering predictions ranging from renewed optimism to familiar caution.

"On a Sunday, when the Cowboys generally play, we do four to five times more in food and beverage sales, not counting the shuttle," longtime owner Randy Ford said.

Ford said the business has been around for years, well before AT&T Stadium was built just down the street.

"We're one mile from the stadium, and so what we do is we shuttle from J. Gilligan's to the Cowboys stadium," Ford said. "We've been doing it 17 years."

Ford charges $20 for shuttle services, with customers getting dropped off right in front of the stadium.

"You don't have to worry about parking," Ford said. "You don't have to worry about driving and drinking and driving. Leave the driving to us."

For their first preseason game, the Cowboys went up against Super Bowl champs, the Seattle Seahawks.

Cowboys fans say there's a lot to look forward to this season.

"I'm excited about the front four and stopping the run, so last year was our biggest problem," said Aaron Huitt.

"New head coach. New defensive coordinator came from the Eagles. He has a Super Bowl, so I think our defense is going to be way better," said Andrew Garcia.

Others are going into it a little pessimistically.

"My biggest issue is we start off so strong, and we always finish very, very sketchy," said Raymond Rivera. "I do want to say it's our year since we got new acquisitions. We signed actual secondary players. We got Caleb Downs. We're looking good."