Apparently it is a reviewable event, I saw someone correct their original statement that it wasn't with a rule-book snippet.
I agree that most people seem to be accidentally or willfully misunderstanding the language of the actual rule. But I come back to the point that it is usually not called. I doubt that there has ever, in the history of college football, been an instance where it was not called on the field, and then it was retroactively applied upon review.
The spirit of the law is to eliminate situations where the kicking team might be confused by signals the returner is making, and hence not try to tackle him because they thought he signaled fair catch, and hence the returner gains an advantage. It was very clear that no one on the field, either teams' players or coaches, thought he was signaling fair catch. Hence, no violation by the spirit of the rule.
By the letter of the rule, his hand did waive in a clear "get away" motion, and hence it should have been dead. If the refs had just blown it dead from the start, we might be a bit perturbed, but no one would too upset. But to come out of nowhere with this violation upon review, when it obviously has nothing to do with the spirit of the law, is a lot to stomach. We watch sports for moments and memories, and everyone in that stadium and watching at home would have remembered that joyously for the rest of their lives. That was taken from us, and its place we are left with this turd of a memory.
