The writing was on the wall for all to see, but that doesn’t make the release of Tampa Bay Rowdies longtime captain Frankie Sanfilippo any easier to swallow. A portion of the quote from Rowdies President Farrukh Quraishi that accompanied the press release announcing the release of Sanfilippo, along with fan lightning rod Shane Hill, seems to suggest that the decision may have been mutual. “… as senior players we support their desire to play,” said Quraishi.

“We have made a strategic decision to play a different brand of soccer and that requires a re-tooling of our squad,” said club president and general manager, Farrukh Quraishi. “And while we appreciate the service that Shane and Frankie have given to the Rowdies, as senior players we support their desire to play. These are never easy decisions but change is the nature of professional sports and this club needed change in order to achieve the success that we all want.”

The offseason for the Rowdies thus far has been about overhauling the leaky defense that conceded 50 goals in 2014. Quraishi and new head coach Thomas Rongen made four splashy defensive signings that have excited the fan base after years of neglecting the back line during the offseason. The unfortunate aspect of those signings however was that they left Sanfilippo, a Right Back and Center Back, as the odd man out. Darnell King was an NASL Best XI player at Right Back in 2014 before joining Tampa Bay. New Center Backs Stefan Antonijevic and Brad Rusin are proven quantities in lower division soccer in this country, and they also happen to be half a foot taller than the 5.9′ Sanfillipo. Even, Gale Agbossoumonde, the unproven Center Back addition has the benefit of past success with Rongen on the US U-20s.

On top of all that Sanfilippo’s style doesn’t quite mesh with Rongen’s proposed new system, which will require technically gifted defenders to play the ball out of the back. That’s never been Sanfillipo’s game and it certainly isn’t what made him special to either the team or fans. In some ways Frankie Sanfillipo has represented what’s best about lower division in soccer in America. Born and raised in the country, a college product that didn’t skills to ever have a shot outside of the US but made the best of it in the chaotic world of the lower divisions. But this shouldn’t be an obituary to his career. He has many good years ahead of him in American soccer if that’s what he desires. That shouldn’t be in doubt. This is about recognizing his time with the Rowdies.

The guys who are present at the ground floor get major extra credit in my book. The guys who put the hard work in day after day, year after year while snobs hold up their noses and scoff that this team, player, or league isn’t worthy of support get massive respect from me. The guys who fight through injuries to play soccer on an abysmal, and arguably dangerous field in a half empty baseball stadium without compliant will only hear praise from me. The guys who represent my home region with class and lead the club I love out onto the field over 100 times will feel nothing but my utmost admiration. The guys who give you a high-five in a crowd of Cosmos fans after a tough match and exclaim “Almost! So close, dude!” will always be remembered fondly by me. Frankie Sanfilippo is one of those guys.

Four years doesn’t seem like much in the grand scheme, but every year is critical in the unstable world of American soccer, where your team operates on a relative shoe-string budget and the threat of disappearing next year is palpable. This is an exciting time for the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Heavy investment, both on and off the field may finally move the club up the landscape of professional sports in Tampa Bay, and possibly American Soccer as a whole. A whole new era has been promised. That’s great. But that doesn’t mean these past few fledgling years of the Rowdies, or guys like Frankie Sanfilippo, should be swept under the rug and forgotten. The front office is will obviously make any move it deems necessary to improve the organization. And, logically, parting ways with Sanfilippo makes a lot of sense. But, no matter the circumstance, it’s always important to recognize when you lose one of the special ones. The Tampa Bay Rowdies fan base may not have returned to past glory days yet, but that doesn’t invalidate the connection between the fans and players who have already shown up for the club. So best wishes to Frankie Sanfilippo on all future endeavors. Thanks for giving it your all for the Bay.