Very true, if you look at the depth you can go with art. However, I taught it to some high school students. Some of them were inner city that had the same notions of "what does this matter?" Once I got them to see things artistically, like paying attention to colors, how images affect people, how statements can be made, etc. they came to see more of the world. They found that there is much more to the world. Everything from how ads manipulate (or try to) to why certain colors match. Now I know some of it wound up helping them with some graffiti, but I think they walked away with something. I know for a fact that two of them focused their anger into their art.
Funny you compared it to football. As a project, I had them pick a commercial and list the different visual tools used to make the product appealing. The Superbowl was around that time, so many of the sportsfans chose beer ads, etc. We had a lot of fun with that one.