I'm sure many people (parents|teachers|other educators)see things like sports in this way. Personally I'm teaching my kids football because I enjoy kicking a football around and playing the game - it's not a direct proxy for learning something else, that is not the motivation.
The reason I'm teaching my eldest about maths is because I find it interesting, stimulating and often fun; not because I see it as a gateway to being an accountant or whatever.
Having said that I see nothing novel educationally in the article except the very specific combination of movie franchise + ipad + maths. Remember Britney Spears being used to teach physics a few years ago?
Slightly OT: I don't think his reasons as stated indemnify him from a successful claim of copyright infringement. He chose the specific franchise as a promotional tool both for his blog and for, it seems, KnowPro Apps. This was apparently a decision rooted in the profitable promotion of business entities. The fact that the app he mention itself was created for sole personal use is immaterial. If there is a KnowPro paid for this app in any way then I'd expect a successful suit could follow. IANA©L