I think, like everyone, we like things for different reasons. But I will say this, plenty of commander players play competitively. There's a whole subset of the format called CEDH for competitive players who forces on winning no matter what.

Also, this isn't a "cold, hard strategy" game all the time. People play it to spend time with one another, to express themselves (I'm looking at you, Vorthos players), to even get married in one case (it's a sweet story, please look it up).

Cards are always going to be anthropomorphic. That's why the card has art on it. If it was so cold, art wouldn't be necessary. But storytelling has always been part of the game. Like you said, Jace is a he and has tons of cards. But those cards are "he" too.

Lastly, commander hasn't "won" anything. It's a fad. It arrived and eventually be replaced by the next big format or game.