Something that represents the human struggle in an Art form?

In a way I can see the human struggle in sports photography. If you look at most sports photos they show a person, or team, trying to accomplish a particular goal. From fans prospective the goal is to win and be the best. This is the same usually for both teams that are playing. You can see the human struggle in these photos if you look at it in a particular way. A while back I heard someone make the statement, “I just don’t understand how an artist can look at a painting of a child playing with a toy train and then say that the painting somehow shows the struggles of the Great Depression.” I agreed with this statement, but when I take another look at sports photography, I can see how a picture of a player diving for the end zone can represent us as humans trying to progress through life to accomplish each of our goals. Once one is completed then we move onto the next on. If we hit a roadblock on the way, then we keep on trying till we finally get it.