There is a saying in the sports world, specifically for those we call "haters": "Don't hate the player; hate the game." The player is just doing what he's supposed to do -- trying to win by following the rules given him. Politics, too, is a sport -- a bloodsport -- and comes with a set of rules also. Since Donald Trump became President-elect Trump, some have dismissed the rules, as if their newly adopted guidelines delegitimize his victory.

NeverTrumpers continue to assert that Trump has no mandate because he did not win the popular vote, as if the path to victory is anything other than winning 270 electoral votes. The goal is not to win the most popular votes. Every campaign knows this. Thus, every campaign strategizes to win the most electoral votes. It's the game plan. If we based our elections on popular vote, flyover country would really be flyover country. Why would anyone leave California or Texas, for example? They wouldn't. They would ignore a large swath of the nation, rather than crafting a message that the farmer in Iowa, banker in New York and West Virginia coal miner could latch onto.

When I coached basketball, I devised a plan for every team we faced, based on the rules of the game. During and after the contest, I looked at the statistics: blocks, rebounds, steals, everything. The most important stat, however, was the score because the rules of the game state that this number determines the winner. Yes, I coached how to block shots, rebound and steal, but the primary goal was to do the only thing that would declare us the winner: score the most points.

In an election, the stat that matters most is the electoral college count because, like points on a scoreboard, that determines the winner. Those are the rules, so that's how campaigns strategize. After a spirited game that resulted in a disappointing loss, I took no comfort in knowing we blocked more shots or had more steals than our opponent. It would have been foolish in a post-game interview to argue that the other team's victory was any less legitimate because my team had more blocks. That information is neither here nor there because that's not how you plan or play the game. That's not how you strategize -- and you know that going in. Trumpeting meaningless stats that don't alter outcomes only proves me foolish and petty. On the other hand, acknowledging that we failed in our ultimate goal and then assessing why we failed reveal a grasp of reality and a determination to improve and "get 'em next time."

But instead of honest reflection, many Democrats continue to say, "We got more overall votes than Donald Trump." That would be fine if that's what the rules say determines victory. They don't. These sore losers' response to defeat is the equivalent of "our team got more blocks than their team!" Meaningless statistic.

But since some want to go there, let's take a look at the stat sheet. As Trump's campaign manager Kellyanne Conway has been pointing out, the Trump team got 306 electoral votes, won 30 of 50 states and garnered more than 2,600 counties, including an excess of 200 counties that President Obama had won. (The congressional and statewide victories are also off the charts.)

Additionally, just a few days after the election, former Congressman Tom Tancredo wrote: "Hillary Clinton did NOT win a majority of the popular vote; her opponents did. Clinton won 47.7 percent of the popular vote, not 50 percent plus one. That means that 52.3 percent of the voters supported someone else as President. If you add [Evan] McMullin's anti-Trump .3 percent to Hillary's 47.7 percent, that is still only 48 percent and short of the 52 percent anti-Hillary vote when you add Gary Johnson's 3.3 percent and Jill Stein's 1.0 percent."

He added that "if you want to look only at the popular vote totals, the anti-Clinton vote outnumbered the anti-Trump vote" and "Trump won 24 of his 30 states by more than 50 percent of the votes, while Clinton won only 14 of her 20 states by over 50 percent."

Look, the only statistic we need to determine winner and loser is the electoral count, which makes Trump's victory a landslide. Trump has a mandate, as dictated by the Constitution. Both he and Clinton played the same game by the same rules. Like it or not, he won. Instead of accepting it, Clinton supporters and surrogates are crying foul, continuing to play identity politics, reelecting Nancy Pelosi and hatin' on Donald Trump. So I point again to the wisdom of the sports adage: "Don't hate the player; hate the game" -- and improve your own.

Adrienne Ross is an author, speaker, columnist, editor, educator and Southeast Missourian editorial board member. Reach her at aross@semissourian.com.