Hosting an international ultimate Frisbee game in a small city like Madison, Wis., was an unexpected event embraced by the Madison Radicals, a pro team that started in 2013 as part of the American Ultimate Disc League. The Buzz Bullets, a world-class ultimate Frisbee team from Japan, competed against the Radicals, who had recently placed second in this year’s A.U.D.L. championship.

“I think it’s great for building the community and for showing the rest of the world where ultimate is going,” Tim DeByl, a Radicals co-owner, said of the Aug. 20 game at Breese Stadium.

Ultimate is played on a football field, but there are significant differences between ultimate and football. “Ultimate is more of a beautiful game and you can play it super hard and people rarely get injured,” DeByl said, because of the no-contact rules. With seven people on the field from each team at a time, points are gained when a player catches a pass in the opposing team’s end zone.

A crowd of 1,155 fans, the Radicals’ second-highest attendance of the year, came to support the first international A.U.D.L. exhibition game, won by the Radicals, 28-21, and were encouraged to bring their own food and drink. “We didn’t have all the bells and whistles, but they still came to support,” a Radicals captain, Pat Shriwise, said. “They took the time to come out on a Thursday night when people have work the next day, and that was really cool and unexpected.”