Julius Peppers Prefers Living In Chicago Over Charlotte

New Chicago Bears DE Julius Peppers recently talked about his departure from the Panthers and the city of Charlotte.

"Truth be told, that's really one of the small reasons that I wanted to get out; because everybody knows your business in Charlotte,'' he says. "I wanted to try something different because out here in Chicago, Jordan was here. Pippen was here. They've got Urlacher. They've got hockey. They've got the baseball. In Charlotte, it was all about the Panthers.''

He also said fans would come up on jet skis to his home on the lake and park for a while peering inside.

SB Nation's Cat Scratch Reader has a solid breakdown of the entire interview and sums things up pretty well.

So in summary the fact Peppers was essentially worshiped in Charlotte really annoyed him more than anything. Conversely Peppers doesn't want the responsibility of being a team leader. I think these two items are the primary reason for his leaving rather than loyalty to his friend Carl Carey or anything the Panthers organization or team may have said or done. Right or wrong, good or bad, I think I at least finally understand all this. I know, I know time, time to move on.  

Read more at SB Nation's Panthers community, Cat Scratch Reader.