"O" why basketball?

Let me start out by stating that I really enjoyed watching "O". It was a very well written movie that, I feel, captured the core ideas of the Shakespearean play. I feel that they made appropriate changes to the play in order to make it more appealing and relatable to highschoolers. However there is just one thing that I had a little bit of trouble with. This was the fact that they tried to substitute war with basketball.
I have no problem with them substituting war with a sport. War is a big part of "Othello" and sports is the closest thing to war for a highschooler. However I think that it would have been a much better fit if, instead of basketball, they used football. The reason is because it was obvious to me that the filmmakers were trying to use each of their positions on the court to further tell the story of each character.
Iago's character was a center, a person who does most of the heavy lifting, getting the rebounds and muscling out the potential threats. The center is normally the position with the least recognition. Cassio's character was a forward, forwards tend to be a jack of all trades and both shoot and rebound, this is a good support position and generally tends to be in the middle in terms of popularity. Finally Othello's character was a guard. Guards are basically the generals of the court. They start and decide the offensive plays, which I will admit really fits an Othello character. The guard must also be able to shoot and is almost always the most popular player in the school.
Now here are just a few of the problems I have with this sport decision. First is the fact that every single one of these positions is interchangeable between each of these characters. Hugo even admits to playing every position in one of his rants. Second is the fact that the "General" part of being a guard is a lot less important than the shooting aspect. If a team has enough skill then they really don't need a good commander. The final point is the fact that, while it is true that you have better chance at being popular based on your position, it really comes down to your own skill. Shaq is a very popular center because he's just that good at what he does. This is not the case in football.
If the filmmakers had chosen football then they could have made Iago's character a center, which almost never gets to touch the ball, has very little recognition, and has to work the hardest each play, holding back one or possibly two 200+ pound guys back each play. Then they could have made Cassio's character a receiver which is the second most important offensive position in the game and the one that needs to have the most coordination with the quarterback. And of course the could have made Othello's character the quarterback. The most essential position on the entire team. The quarterback needs to call the plays and read the defense in order to win. And, unlike a guard, aside from throwing, the quarterback really doesn’t need a lot of physical ability.
There are several other advantages to using football to simulate war rather than basketball not the least of which being that football has a general feel of war that basketball does not. Also there is no way a football team can win without a proper strategist as a quarterback. This would ad more to the feeling of their military positions. Especially "Othello's" position as a general. Then there is the fact that it would be much easier to explain how "Othello" gets hurt during the move and help better connect this scene to the play.
Finally there is the fact that it would be very simple to show how "Cassio" and "Othello" fighting would directly affect the course of the game. Because receiver-quarterback communication is essential in any football match.
All in all "O" was an extremely good movie I just feel that there was a better choice for the symbolism of war.

Till next time

Will