Yeah, I hear you. To me it seems that these knee injuries are a lot more frequent now then they were 15-20 years ago. I can only assume it has a lot to do with bigger, faster athletes and maybe the artificial turf fields that are being used now in football.
It definitely has to do with bigger faster athletes. The turf I can’t even keep up with the different kinds.
I’m older, and I only played in HS, but back then it was basically either grass, or synthetic/carpet.
What’s gotten better are the surgeries. When I had my knee I was 18, well over 20 years ago, and I had the same knee “improved” last year. Without going into all the details, I was just having problems but only when I did fast start/stops, like playing racquetball or hoops. They just basically “improved” my original surgery, I guess I had some scar tissue etc, but it feels 100% normal now, where for over 20 years it gave me some trouble when I was active, especially laterally and cutting.