A series of dismal defeats for England in cricket and rugby, coupled with Andy Murray's slide down the tennis rankings, suggest Britain is in dire need of new sporting blood.
Super Saturday of Sport, which took place over the weekend on Turnham Green, Chiswick, for the second year running, could be just the shot in the arm required to bolster the nation's sporting hopes.
At least 2,000 people of all ages - more than four times as many as last year - tried their hand at everything from Aussie rules football to Zumba on the green and in Chiswick Town Hall during the day.
There were more than 40 sports and other activities to sample this time, compared with 15 last year, as the free jamboree expanded to take over the whole of the green.
One of the biggest hits - literally in this case - was American football, with players from the London Hornets putting people through their paces.
Former Bond baddie Sebastien Foucan showed his nicer side as his freerunning master classes also attracted big crowds throughout the day, and there was no let-up in the popularity of slacklining as people put their balance to the test.
Olympic gold-medallist rower James Cracknell opened the event, sponsored by Get Active Hounslow, and Rugby World Cup winner Matt Dawson was among the visitors, with his children.
Ironically, the event - set up to build on the impetus provided by that glittering day in London 2012 when Team GB secured a record six golds - is the brainchild of Kirsten Lonsdale, who hails from the land of green and gold, Britain's traditional sporting foe.
"I grew up in Australia, where it's taken for granted that you'll try all kinds of sports, and I wanted to give my two children and other young people in London the same opportunities I had," said the sports journalist, who lives in Chiswick.
"The feedback, both from visitors and the clubs, who said they'd already signed up a number of new members, has been amazing.
"You never know what might be the sport for you until you're exposed to it and the key to Super Saturday is keeping it free so people can have a go at whatever takes their fancy.
"I don't want this to be a one-day thing, where everybody stops being active for the rest of the year. I want to get more people playing sport regularly, and hopefully that will be the result."
The latest figures from Sport England show the proportion of people in Hounslow participating in sport at least once a week increased last year to 34.5 per cent, though it is still down on the 2011/12 figure of 37.8 per cent.
