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Past rusher: Apathy in N. Carolina; Peppers was the face of the Panthers' franchise, but return has

Published Oct. 9, 2010 2:24 a.m. ET

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BEARS AT PANTHERS

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The Queen City is the popular nickname for Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina. But another nickname seems more appropriate as Bears defensive end Julius Peppers prepares for a homecoming Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.

During the Revolutionary War, British commander Charles Cornwallis occupied the city but was driven out by hostile residents, prompting him to write that Charlotte was a ''hornet's nest of rebellion.''

Contemporary residents debate whether the five-time Pro Bowl defensive end bolted town voluntarily or involuntarily, a point that's not entirely clear because Peppers insists the Panthers were going to ''do away with anybody who was making any significant amount of money'' and focusing on young players, even though he admittedly was ready to venture elsewhere.

But this much is indisputable: Peppers and his new team -- the 3-1 Bears -- have designs to push the Panthers to 0-5.

''There are going to be some people upset because they feel betrayed,'' said Frank Garcia, a former Panthers offensive lineman who co-hosts a radio program in Charlotte. ''But they forget that there's a business that takes place.

''For the most part, he did a lot for this team and community. But there always seemed to be that sense of underachievement with him because of his potential and his abilities.''

And he was homegrown.

The legend of Peppers grew in Bailey, N.C., where he dominated in football, basketball and track. He took his freakish athleticism to the University of North Carolina, where he earned the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation's top defensive player and played a key reserve role on a Tar Heels team that reached the Final Four.

After a 1-15 season, the Panthers selected Peppers with the second pick in the 2002 NFL draft and immediately reaped the benefits: 12 sacks in 12 games.

In eight seasons with the Panthers, Peppers had 81 sacks but was constantly dogged about his effort -- or lack of it.

''When he was on, he was one of the best in the game,'' said Mark Oakley, who ventured the 80-some miles from Winston-Salem to Charlotte on Thursday on a Greyhound bus to get autographs from players after practice. ''He would tear apart one team, then struggle against some rookie I've never heard of.''

But Peppers, who signed a six-year contract with the Bears that included $42 million in guarantees, has gotten off to a strong start by getting two sacks and drawing several penalties. Meanwhile, the Panthers' pass rush has lacked bite, former defensive tackle Brentson Buckner said.

''Carolina could have had a fairy- tale ending [with Peppers],'' said Buckner, who co-hosts a show with Garcia. ''But I don't think they ever saw this day coming, and they did a bad job of planning for it.

''It's sort of like the captain of the Titanic.''

Like the Bears, the Panthers have four sacks, but they haven't generated nearly as much pressure, Buckner said.

''They don't have anybody who can command any respect in the pass rush,'' said Buckner, who played with Peppers from 2002 to 2005.

His reception

Although he was the face of the franchise, Peppers didn't have to be removed off the side of a downtown building like LeBron James. Peppers wasn't interested in endorsements and television appearances.

Drive an hour around downtown Charlotte, and one would be hard-pressed to find faded posters or murals of Peppers -- anything that indicated he'd starred with the Panthers for eight seasons. All the team had to do was replace his image from a merchandise trailer and a truck used for visits to school and community events.

At Sports Fan-Attic at Northlake Mall, Peppers' Bears jerseys are an ''above-average'' seller, store manager Joe Curatolo said. With the Bears coming to town, though, Curatolo placed a rack of Peppers jerseys and T-shirts near the entrance of the store.

''That rack will be empty by Sunday,'' he said.

Still, Curatolo says his top-selling NFL teams are the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, followed by the Panthers and Washington Redskins.

And while there's interest in his return (a column about him was the third-most viewed story on the Charlotte Observer's website Thursday evening), Peppers hasn't elicited the sort of emotion that Buckner expected.

Buckner blames the Panthers more than Peppers.

''If Carolina was doing a lot better than they are now, it would be a big deal,'' Buckner said. ''But they've got so many problems internally ... that it's sort of been swept under the rug.''

There are no effigies of Peppers, although Garcia got an e-mail from a listener who said he was going to have a ''Peppers Pyro Palooza,'' during which fans would burn his Panthers jerseys.

''But I don't know if it was a joke,'' Garcia said.

Brian O'Regan has owned Panthers season tickets for 10 years, and he would applaud Peppers if he were going to the game, but he has other plans this weekend.

''He's one of my favorites,'' said O'Regan, who added that he owns two Panthers jerseys of Peppers. ''He was a significant reason why the franchise quickly became a winning team. I think the owner has taken the inexpensive route.

''He was a stud, and he's shown it with the Bears. We're going to miss him, and I'm sure he's going to have a huge game Sunday.''

Comment at suntimes.com.

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