Article of footwear with decoupled upper

An article of footwear, comprising:

• a longitudinal direction extending along a major axis of the article of footwear and a lateral direction extending along a minor axis of the article of footwear;
• a heel region, a midfoot region and a forefoot region;
• an upper and a sole structure;
• a connecting member comprising an upper portion, a lower portion and a sidewall extending between an upper periphery and a lower periphery of the connecting member, wherein the sidewall has a tapered height, such that the sidewall has a first height in the midfoot region and the sidewall has a second height in the heel region, wherein the first height is greater than the second height;
• the upper portion connecting to the upper and the lower portion connecting to the sole structure, wherein the lower portion includes a plurality of markings, wherein the plurality of markings generally extend along the longitudinal direction and are spaced inward from the lower periphery of the connecting member,
• wherein the plurality of markings are configured to identify an attachment region between the lower portion and the sole structure at locations spaced inward from the lower periphery of the connecting member,
• wherein the lower portion of the connecting member is attached to the sole structure along a first pair of markings of the plurality of markings and unconnected to the sole structure in the lateral direction between the lower periphery of the connecting member to each marking of the first pair of markings, wherein a top surface of the sole structure is exposed between the lower portion of the connecting member and each marking of the first pair of markings to partially decouple the lower portion of the connecting member from the sole structure, and
• wherein the sole structure extends continuously from an outer medial edge of the article of footwear to an outer lateral edge of the article of footwear.