DIY Basketball Party & Coca-Cola Pulled Pork Sliders

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Not sure what the sports crowd is like in your friends circle, but my husband and his buddies are pretty much into everything. Football, hockey, and of course – basketball. So when college basketball rolls around, everyone gets pretty pumped.

Now, technically nothing exciting starts until next week, but there’s no reason we can’t pre-party! 😉

Hey, here in the frigid Chicago cold, we can use as many excuses as possible to gather together and have fun! Basketball party, here we come!

Now, I am not as into basketball as my husband and his friends, but I AM into being the “hostess with the most-ess”, LOL. So when we decided to jazz up a Sunday with a bunch of friends and good food, we do it right!

First off, make it look good!!

I wanted a fun tablescape for this basketball party, so I dug around in my party stash and pulled out some black and white crepe paper streamer rolls and white and black plastic tablecloths. We have several parties each year, so I’ve got a good stock on hand. 🙂

We don’t root for any particular team, so I went with a referee color scheme as opposed to any team colors. All’s fair in college basketball at the Crafty house!

To add a pop of color, I pulled out my circle paper punch and some orange card stock.

Once I’d cut my circles, I grabbed some tape and white curling ribbon. I affixed circles every half inch or so on the ribbon. I could have added “basketball lines” on them, but I was going more for a basic concept than actual imagery.

I’d twirled the white crepe paper and affixed it to the wall behind our table, running the length of the table. I used the black crepe paper to create “referee lines” every few inches. The white tablecloth was the base cover of our folding party table, and I snipped the black tablecloth in half along the folded crease, creating two referee lines for the table itself.

Tip: Create height on a table by stacking paper plates UNDER your tablecloth and setting bowls and dishes on top of them.

Second, have GREAT food!

Ok, before anyone else points this out, I realize these are really sandwiches vs sliders. I wanted to do sliders, but did not have any slider buns available. I did however have a huge supply of hamburger buns, so we went with that. But sliders just sounds better, doesn’t it??

This would be a little over 6lbs of pork butt. {Giggle}. I cut the crosswise marks into the fat based on advice I got long ago about it helping the fat to render. Does it work? No idea. But it looks good!

Place your pork into your slow cooker and season. I use a special local Chicago seasoning that I ADORE, but a similar version would call for equal parts of smoked paprika, garlic salt, and chili powder. Sprinkle over the top of the pork.

Now for the secret ingedient: Coca-Cola. I’ve been a lover of Coca-Cola for years, and using it in recipes is nothing new.

This sort of measurement is kinda based on the size of your pork, but I roughly advise half a can for a full slow cooker.

Set on high, and time at about an hour per pound.

Now THAT looks delicious. Gingerly transfer the meat to a bowl for shredding. It will probably fall apart on transfer, and that’s a good thing.

More on the food front was my “basketball themed” pizza dip.

Find the recipe here. I simply added sliced black olives to recreate a basketball court. 🙂

We also made some of our party favorites, including beer dip/pretzels, and a hot Italian bread ring. SO MANY CARBS, lol. One can’t have too much food when entertaining multiple men intent on sports! (And eating!).

And of course we can’t let anyone go thirsty, so we had TWO coolers jam-packed with delicious beverages!

When you are stocking up for your tournament party (or any party!) I’d definitely do what we do, and hit up Sam’s Club. They have pretty much everything, and in the appropriate sizes for a large gathering. Sprite, Coca-Cola, Coke Zero, etc!

So, now I think we are officially in the mood for the start of next week’s games. I’m hoping my hubby’s bracket does well (who wants to live with a man losing against his buddies!?). Let us know how your brackets are going!!