First geocaching never was a game. It's a RASH. Recreational Activity Sport Hobby is about the best description I've see. Game means 'silly little children running about with GPS devices' which most politicians don't want in their backyards.
Regardless Games, Sports, Cooperative Hobbies all have rules.
The rule you are hating is a cache owne saying "do the cache I have placed for you as intended".
While I agree that as new caches you should be able to do them, the owners have spoken and until they change the rules they are the final authority over their cache. If you as a finder want to impose your own rules on each and every cache owner, that's another thing and it's flat out wrong.
So according to your description Baseball,hockey,football "games-silly little children running about" I understand what you are saying but I still feel it is a game, I GEOCACHE to have fun and to meet people. Taking away the ability to hunt for a cache as it uses some of the same stages, not all is ridiculous. I just want to go out and have fun and find caches on my list to take them off. If the cache had the same GC number then I can see where you would be right in not logging the cache but alas it is a new gc number and fair game to all.