And i’m smiling to beat the band cause if i’ve lost this race, or if me and gretchen tied, or even if i’ve won, i can always retire as a runner and begin a whole new career as a coach with raymond as my champion. after all, with a little more study i can beat cynthia and her phony self at the spelling bee. and if i bugged my mother, i could get piano lessons and become a star. and i have a big rep as the baddest thing around. and i’ve got a roomful of ribbons and medals and awards. but what has raymond got to call his own? how does this excerpt provide evidence of the theme “real champions care about others’ feelings”?

In these lines, we see that the speaker wants to win. However, this is not the main thing he cares about. He reflects on the fact that even if he does not win, he can still do many other things. He can still be a coach, or he can win a spelling bee. He tells us that he already has a room full of awards. However, he cares about the other competitor, Raymond. The speaker thinks Raymond has much less, and he worries about his feelings if he loses. This highlights the theme “real champions care about others’ feelings” by showing how the speaker cares about Raymond's feelings more than he cares about winning.

well if u read the book you would know that she meant to